Extraordinary forgiveness: Forgiving the unforgivable
In the past couple of months, two powerful stories of forgiveness have captured Australia’s attention. In Sydney, Danny Abdallah forgave Samuel Davidson, who, under the influence of drugs and alcohol, lost control of his car and killed three of Danny’s children and his niece as they walked home from the corner store. Not only did Danny speak forgiveness, but he also sat with the man in prison – an act of grace that stunned the nation. In Melbourne, Pastor Ian Wilkinson, who lost his wife and in-laws and narrowly survived the now infamous mushroom poisoning, extended forgiveness to Erin Patterson, saying in his victim impact statement: “I encourage Erin to receive my offer of forgiveness for the harms done to me.” Amazing!
Stories like these touch us because forgiveness of such magnitude feels almost impossible. What empowers such extraordinary acts of forgiveness? The common denominator in both Danny and Ian’s lives is their faith in God.
The Bible is clear: God offers forgiveness to everyone – for the moments, big and small, when we ignore what is good and right and choose our own way. He forgives not because we deserve it, but because of who He is. Nehemiah describes him this way:
“But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them.”Nehemiah 9:17, NLT
Even when God had every right to be angry, He remained present in forgiveness. We see the same heart in Jesus, who, as He was executed, prayed: “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34, NLT) A call to show forgiveness when anger and vengeance would certainly have seemed natural.
It is experiencing God’s forgiveness for ourselves that empowers us to forgive others. Christians do not have a monopoly on forgiveness; people can and do forgive without believing in God. However, when Jesus calls those who follow Him to “forgive as the Lord has forgiven you” (Colossians 3:13), He reminds us that the deepest source of power to forgive is not simply self-will, inner conviction, or even the knowledge that forgiveness frees us from bitterness. True power comes from receiving and experiencing God’s unmerited, undeserved, unwarranted forgiveness of our own wrongs. This gift, offered to everyone, when accepted, becomes the wellspring that enables us to extend forgiveness to others.
This still though doesn’t make it easy. To find more encouragement and hope in your journey of forgiveness, consider reading through the PeaceWise app daily verse reflections focused on forgiveness this week.
