Me, Forgive them?

"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."  Luke 23: 34

When we face false accusations it is difficult to think of anything but revenge. If we do not execute the justice we believe should be dealt, we hope that some evil will befall the one who has wronged us.

Yet the response by Jesus to those who falsely accused him is quite different. Did Jesus forgive those Jewish religious leaders who convinced the Roman authorities to put him on a cross? Actually, we do not know as he gave his false accusers to his father to deal with them. Here is a model of how to deal with those who hurt us, abuse us, betray us, and even falsely accuse us: let the Father deal with them!

Many years ago I was black-listed by a man who held a great deal of power in the church of which I was a member of at the time. I attempted to reach out to him and extend forgiveness. He never responded to my outreach. One day I heard he dropped dead of a heart attack in the middle of a meeting where he had become very angry. When I think of this event, I still have to pray these last words of Jesus: “Father, forgive him, he did not know what he was doing.” – Ron Friesen