Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem
St. Stephen's Last Words are remarkably like those of Jesus. Both were innocent men who were murdered by a mob in an agonizing way. Both forgave their attackers by releasing them to The Father for forgeveness. When Jesus taught us to pray The Lord's Prayer, He knew that we would have trouble forgiving the unforgivable. He also knew that there would be circumstances in which we would find it impossible to do any forgiving:
1. Forgiving the Attacker while the Offense is in Progress: When we are under attack, our bodies are flooded with chemicals that give us the means to defend ourselves. We are faced with "Fight or Flight" and can do incredible feats even while in terrible pain. Soldiers in battle experience this, as do ordinary people in emergencies. There is no time for philosophizing, analyzing guilt, or internal debate, when one is being nailed to a cross or being pelted with stones. And yet, both Jesus and Stephen were able to pray for forgiveness for their attackers. However, neither said "I Forgive You" Both said, "Father, forgive Them"
2. Forgiving When the Attacker doesn't even ASK: This is particularly difficult, because sometimes we see the offender day after day and he sails through life as if he has done nothing wrong. He has never asked for forgiveness, and probably never will. How can I even forgive such a person? Again, releasing the person to The Father is the only way a Human can forgive such an offender. In the New Testament, there are at least two people who were forgiven in this manner, and both became converts in very dramatic ways. The first was a Roman Soldier who stood at the foot of the Cross for the whole execution of Jesus. Although he may have been one of the mockers, and certainly was involved in the execution, he found himself declaring "Surely This Was The Son of God!", after Jesus had given up His Spirit. He had not asked for forgiveness, but it was given to him anyway, because Jesus had released him to The Father.
The second person who was forgiven without asking for it was a certain Pharisee who held people's cloaks during the Stoning of Stephen. Not only did Saul assist in murdering Stephen, he then proceeded to hunt down new Believers and turn them over for prosecution and presumably, execution. Saul did not not ask for forgiveness, but felt quite self-righteous doing his dirty deeds for some time after Stephen's Martyrdom. When God finally "got his attention", Saul had not asked for forgiveness at all but was actually on his way to Damascus to persecute even more people.
There are people who have offended us deeply in life. The offenses were real and devastating, and maybe even cased permanent harm. The offenders never asked forgiveness, have moved away, or have even died. How on earth can we forgive them? The truth is, we can't in our own power. But we can follow the example of Jesus and Stephen, and reease them to The Father. With God, all things are possible!
3. Forgiving Someone Who ASKS for it: This is the easiest form of forgiveness. It nearly aways results in hugs and tears, and a deeper bond of friendship. The only snag is when the asker is not really sincere and is just trying to get off the hook. We see this a lot in law and politics. A plea-bargain or a smarmy "non-apology" is not the same as True Repentance. After going through a few of these, we soon get wise to knowing the difference. When Jesus spoke of Forgiveness, He was speaking of interpersonal relationships. He was not speaking about forgiving regimes for genocide, or evil officials for crimes against humanity. "Justice" is not "Unforgiveness", even if some would like to interpret it that way. That's why God gave us The Ten Commandments, and why The Constitution gives us guidelines on how to run a government. "Law and Order" and "Forgiveness" are not mutually exclusive.
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)
God Bless America.
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS
