Awakening Faith: Hope From the Global Churchਨਮੂਨਾ

Forgiving the Unforgivable

Each year, more Christians are martyred in Nigeria than in any other nation on earth. The violence is brutal, the losses staggering. So you can imagine the emotions I felt as I listened to one Nigerian believer describe his heart for the very men who had hunted him for sharing the Gospel.

He had lost friends. He had seen his own life threatened. Yet when he spoke, there was no bitterness in his voice. Instead, he said, “Pray that we would forgive and that the gospel would go to them, too.”

Forgiveness like that isn’t natural. It doesn’t come from willpower. It comes from Jesus. This brother wasn’t excusing evil, and he wasn’t denying pain. He was bearing witness to a Savior who, hanging on the cross, prayed for His executioners: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Radical forgiveness is one of the clearest marks of resurrection power. It disarms hate, confounds enemies, and opens the door for hope where despair has reigned. And it leaves us with a question: if he can forgive men who tried to kill him, who do I need to forgive in light of Christ’s mercy toward me?

The persecuted church reminds us: forgiveness isn’t weakness. Forgiveness is gospel strength.