forgiveness – Hope Walking

Let Him In!

Jack was jogging through his local county park one grey afternoon when he felt an intense pain run down his left arm. Slowing his pace he turned down a wooded path that led back to his car. The light grew dimmer, and then, much to his surprise, the sun appeared and he noticed a wall on each side that he’d never seen before. At the end was a white gate, then a green garden filled with sunshine.

When Jack reached the gate a kind-faced woman opened it, smiled and said, “Welcome Jack. I’m Marie. They’re expecting you. Please sit over by the flowering tree and someone will be right with you.”

Then she walked about 30 yards, went through a door in a hedge, and was gone.

Jack knew he should be disturbed by these strange circumstances, yet he wasn’t. He felt uncommonly relaxed. He was wondering what tree produced such colorful and fragrant blossoms, and where his car had gone, when a young handsome man approached him.

“Welcome, Jack,” he said. “I’m Elias. I just want to ask you a few questions and your escort will take you to your room. Do you have any favorite colors?”

“Well, I really like yellows, bright blue and white. But why do you want to know?” asked Jack.

”We’re getting your place ready for you,” Elias said as he made notes in a file folder. “What view do you prefer: woods, fields, mountains, lake?”
“Lake, please,” said Jack. “But tell me, why am I here? Am I dead?”
“Not anymore,” Elias said.“You had a heart attack on the jogging path. When you walk through the door in the hedge you will enter unending life. There is just one thing you will do before you go to that door. It is our custom here to let the newest arrival greet the next arrival, as Marie greeted you. I’ll stay here with you until he arrives.”

Jack couldn’t tell how long they waited. It seemed to him that time was no longer important. He felt content and joyful like never before. He wanted to sit there forever. Then he heard steps approaching the gate. Elias took out another file and said, “This is Mike. Please open the gate and let him in.”

Jack happily walked toward the gate, but when he saw Mike, everything changed.

A volcano of fear, grief, hate and anger erupted inside Jack. He reheard the shouts, the shots, the explosive crash, saw the blood everywhere and felt the cold face of the friend he loved.

“No!” he cried. “No! I can’t let him in. Elias, don’t you know what he did?”

Elias’s eyes spoke understanding, but his voice was steady and low. “No, I don’t know.”

“Don’t you have his record?” insisted Jack incredulously.

“No, we don’t. All records were destroyed by our Lord.”

“There must be a record somewhere,” Jack insisted.

“Oh, yes, there is, but it’s not here. The Accuser has it. He saves everything.”

“The Accuser?”

“Yes, the Accuser. In Hebrew he’s called Satan.”

“Wait, you have some records. When I got here you knew my name and some of my history.”

“Oh, yes, of course we know some things, like when you started to follow the Lord. Let me see. Michael Sullivan. Born again April 18, 2021, McCreary Prison, Lexington, Kentucky.”

“You have prisoners here?!” Jack exclaimed.

“Oh, no! We don’t imprison anyone. That would be the other place. So, are you going to let him in?”

“Look, I don’t see why I am under any obligation to open the door for Mike. That would be like saying I forgive him for what he did to me.”

“Precisely”

“But I never agreed to that.”

“Oh, but you did. Thousands of times.”

“Thousands of times? When?”

“Did you ever pray the prayer the Lord taught his disciples?” Elias asked. “You call it the Lord’s Prayer.”

“Of course I’ve prayed it. Ever since I was a kid. We even used to pray it in school when I was little. What’s that got to do with this?”

After a pause, Elias continued, “Did you pray ‘forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us?’”

After a long silence Jack admitted he had.

“Well, then,” Elias said. “Forgive Mike the way our Lord has forgiven you…totally.”

“But that’s impossible,” Jack wailed.

“God never asks us to do impossible things. Hard, but not impossible.”

“But, can’t I ask God to forgive me even if I can’t forgive Mike?”

“Let me ask you something, Jack. Do you remember the story of the prodigal son? Even when his father begged him, the older son refused to join the party.”

Jack quickly glanced at Mike, waiting to be let in, and nodded.

“Do you still have the letter?” Elias asked.

Jack knew what letter Elias meant, the letter from the Victim-offender Reconciliation Program at the prison.

“Look,” continued Elias. “the door to unending life is right over there. It’s called forgiveness. It’s not called, “I forgive” or “I’m forgiven” it’s simply called “forgiveness.” You either want to go there, or you don’t. As soon as you let Mike in you can go together.”

Jack shook his head. “I can’t. I’m not ready. I need more time.”

“You want more time, Jack?” Elias asked.

Jack nodded.

“Granted.”

Jack felt his body lift and fall. Glaring lights blinded him. He heard a “beep, beep, beep” over his head.

“He’s back,” exclaimed a woman in blue scrubs.

‘Oh, no!” thought Jack. “What have I done?”

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Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. Mark 11:25

The Father and His Sons Part 4

The noise of the celebration grew as word of the son’s return spread through the community. Friends and neighbors showed up to welcome him home. (click here for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

The band arrived and music spewed into the nearby fields, reaching the ear of the older brother. He had been working hard and was uncomfortably hot when he stopped to wonder what the noise was.

“What neighbor could possibly be having a celebration on a work day?” he wondered. Looking around for an answer he was stunned to realize the commotion was from his father’s house.

Not having been told of any plans for a party, he called one of the servants and sent him to see what was going on.

When the servant returned he rather shyly told the older son that his father had hired a band and killed the fattened calf.

“What would ever make him do that?” demanded the son.

“Well,” the servant began hesitantly. “Well.”

“Well what!”

“Well, your brother has come home.”

“My brother is home and this is what my father does!” the son fumed, as he threw down his field tools and rushed to the house, sputtering insults as he went.

When he arrived in the front yard his father saw him and motioned him to come in and join the party.

But he would not. He stayed outside, getting more and more enraged.

Finally his father came out. The father should not have had to come out. His oldest son’s refusal to come in was insulting. But the father loved him.

“Son,” he said. “Please come in and celebrate with me. You know how heartsick I have been since your brother left. But now he is home. We can forget the sorrow and be happy again. Please come in.”

But he would not go in. Instead he quite disrespectfully yelled at his father.

“Look, all these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, but you never gave me even a little goat, so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!”

Now this father’s heart broke all over again. But he loved both his sons, so he said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It’s right that we celebrate and are glad, for your brother was dead, and now is alive; he was lost, and is found.”

And that is the end of the story. Jesus doesn’t tell us if the older brother joins the party. I think he wants you to decide.

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Scripture referenced: Luke 15:25-32

Would You Ever Leave Again?

What do you think about the older brother’s reaction to his brother’s returning home? Read about him here.

In Jesus’ story we often refer to the younger brother as “the prodigal son.” You know how after wasting his father’s hard-earned wealth, he finds himself destitute, walks home barefoot, and is enthusiastically greeted by his dad who throws a big party to celebrate his return.

What could possibly have given the younger son the courage to walk back up to the door from which he had so arrogantly departed? What kind of man do you think the son knew his father to be? At least he knew he was a good man, not lacking in compassion or prone to retribution. I would guess he also knew his father loved him. That he did not expect the welcome home celebration he received tells us he had underestimated both his father’s love and his father’s grief when he left home. But he knew his father would treat him as well as any other beggar who showed up asking for work, so he went home.

Imagine yourself in this son’s place. You are expecting a lecture and hoping for a few pieces of bread, and instead you get the best clothes, a ring on your finger and the fattened calf with the local band. Would you ever leave your father again?!

Now imagine you are the older brother. You had watched your dad worry and grieve over your brother. You saw him age years in the months his son was away. You had hoped to never see the ungrateful brat again, but here he is and your father has not held back anything to celebrate. And you are mad! So you stay outside, hoping your father will notice how mad you are. When he sees you he comes out with a big smile on his face and begs you to please come in and be glad with him. Why do you refuse?

I love the story of the prodigal son because it speaks so clearly and loudly of God’s heart for you and me. He wants us home. Never mind where you have been – never mind what you have done – never mind all the time you wasted – just come home and celebrate our being a family. Your Father loves you. He wants you with him, under his roof, safe and sound, surrounded by love.

Jesus told us to pray, “your will be done.” Maybe we left home like this younger son because we thought we knew better how to enjoy life. When we found out how wrong we were, we went home, knowing our Father’s will was our good. Would we ever leave again?

How different this is from the relationship the older son has with his father when he says,

“Look, all these years I have worked for you like a slave, and I have never disobeyed your orders.”

He’s doing the father’s will, but his obedience is contractual, and he feels like a hired worker.

Meanwhile inside the younger son is eating and dancing and reveling in his father’s love. Tomorrow morning the three of them will head out to the fields together.

Which son would you rather be?

The Father and His Sons Part 3

It took a long time for the son to walk back to the family farm. Remember, he had gone to a far country. (read Parts 1 and 2.) The rough road on his bare feet slowed him down. And he was hungry to the point of fainting . But getting home was his only hope of surviving, so he kept going.

He had lots of time to think about what he would say to his father when he got there. He knew his father had no obligation to help him – not after the way he had acted. By rights his father should turn him away, but he knew him to be a kind man, so he prepared this little speech:

“Father, I have sinned against Heaven and you. I am not worthy to be called your son. Will you allow me to work here as your hired servant?”

The son rehearsed his speech over and over on his slow walk home. And while he walked his father was still watching. Every morning his father looked down the road, hoping to see his son. At noon, and again before dark, he looked and prayed his boy would come home.

Then one afternoon the father looked and thought he saw far off a familiar figure on the road. His heart started to beat quickly, but then he thought, “That’s not my son. He is way too thin and he walks with his head down.”

But he kept watching.

“Wait,” he thought, “it looks like my son’s gait. But, no, this fellow is wearing nothing but rags. It’s not him.”

But he kept watching.

And as the figure drew nearer the father’s heart leapt with the joy of recognition.

“It’s my son!” Then he did what no dignified gentleman would do. Pulling up his robe he sprinted down the path to the gate shouting, “You’re home! You’re home!”

The son had barely made it through the gate when the impact of his father’s embrace almost knocked him over. He tried to start his speech, saying, “Father,I have sinned against Heaven and…..”

But his father wasn’t listening. He was kissing him and shouting instructions to the servants.

“Look, my son is home. Run to my closet and bring me my best robe. And bring some shoes with it.”

“And, you, go tell the cook to kill the fatted calf and make a big feast. We are going to celebrate!”

“And, you, go tell the neighbors my son is home and we are feasting. And then go hire that band we like.”

Finally the father took off his ring and put it on the finger of his son, which meant he was restored to the position of his father’s beloved child.

Together they walked back to the house, and the party began.

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Jesus told this story so we can know how God the Father feels about us. Whether you are on the road leaving, on the road heading back or safely home the Father loves you more than you guess, and your welcome party is waiting.

Scripture reference: Luke 15:11-24

The Farmer and His Sons. Part 2

Please read Part 1 if you were not here last week.

And the father kept watching.

Every morning, before he did anything else, he would look down the road for his son. At noon, while out in the fields, he would wipe the sweat from his brow and look down the road. And the last thing he did at night before he closed the front door was look out again and ask God to bring his son home.

But his son was far from home. He had walked until he was in a far country where no one knew him, where no one could carry reports of what he was doing back to his family. There he enjoyed spending his new wealth. He made many new friends and bought them dinner and drinks. He bought nice things for the pretty young women he met. He had plenty of money, so this lasted for quite some time. But finally his money ran out. And when his money was gone, much to his surprise, his friends were, too.

About the same time a famine hit the land. Food became expensive. He sold his fine clothes, gold chains and jeweled rings just to pay for something to eat. In the end he sold his shoes for a small loaf of bread.

He tried begging. When that didn’t work, he took a job feeding pigs. Hungry and alone he sat out in the field watching the pigs gobble down carob pods. He wished he had pods to eat. But no one gave him anything.

What he did have was plenty of time to think.

“What am I doing here?” he thought. “This is dumb! Back home the servants are eating all they want and I am sitting here starving to death.”

It did not take him long to decide he would return home, admit he had been wrong and ask his father to let him work as a hired servant.

So he left the far country and headed back to the farm.

(To be continued)

The son doesn’t know his father has been longing for him to come home, but he does know his father’s character. What do you think there is about his father that motivates the son to go back?

What do you know about the character of God?

If you knew God the Father loves you like this farmer loves his son, would you go to him?

The prophet Jeremiah wrote this:

“For I know what I have planned for you,” says the LORD. “I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.”

Hope to see you back here next week for the homecoming.

Scripture quoted:Jeremiah 29:11 (NET Bible)

The Power of Brandt Jean

Suddenly last week news shows and social media were filled with the gentle, articulate voice of Brandt Jean. His forgiveness for his brother’s murderer was unexpected, but not unprecedented (Rev. Anthony B. Thompson forgave his wife’s killer in another poignant courtroom confrontation four years ago in Charleston.)

Some online discussion that followed distracted us from the import of this act. Let’s go back to Brandt and the power of what he did.

brandt-jean-testimony-700x438

The news that someone you love has been murdered pounds you. Many years ago my friend Frank was shot in the face and died instantly. When I heard, I felt someone had beaten me. To the weight of grief was added the assault of evil.

We can hardly start to fathom the depth of Brandt’s pain over the loss of his brother Botham, but we can profoundly value it. And that is what makes Brandt’s gift of forgiveness to Amber Guyger so stunningly powerful.

You may be thinking Amber does not deserve forgiveness, but think for a moment how you know that. How do you know there is a moral law that says murder is wrong? How do you know that anything is wrong? How do you know that you, yourself, have done wrong? I know you know that, as I know I have done serious wrong.

God put a moral law in our hearts; when we break it, we break ourselves. We can try hard to escape the despair of that brokenness, to push the pain away anyway we can, but we can’t keep it away.

But God, in Christ, took that pain on himself and died to remove our brokenness. Christ has told us to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

“I hope you go to God with all the guilt, all the bad things you’ve done in the past.” Brandt told Amber. “If you truly are sorry, I know, I can speak for myself – I forgive you, and I know if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you.”

Brandt lives in the forgiveness that has given life to him, and so he has the power to invite Amber to live also.

There are only two choices: to spend our days bickering and blaming, while the guilt in our souls destroys us, or to accept God’s forgiveness and offer mercy to everyone, even those who harm us.

“I want the best for you, because that’s exactly what Botham would want you to do. And the best would be to give your life to Christ,” Brandt said. “I’m not going to say anything else. I think giving your life to Christ would be the best thing that Botham would want you to do. Again, I love you as a person, and I don’t wish anything bad on you.”

I hope the power of this reaches you.