"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 delt, 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
This probably sounds cynical but why would God need to have that pointed out to him?
ReplyDeleteGod didn't need it pointed out to him; we need it pointed out to us.
ReplyDeleteSo do you believe he actually said it or no?
ReplyDeleteWhy should we disbelieve it?
ReplyDeleteNot saying you should, I'm just wondering if you think it's literally true. The more I read various people's thoughts on the subject the more I'm seeing that a lot of people don't care if the Bible stories are literally true or not. Kind of a 'what's the difference?' attitude. Which I'm tossing around in my mind.
ReplyDelete'What's the difference?' Really? It doesn't matter? Interesting ...