A Great Gift To God

III. Forgiveness and Reconciliation Bring Healing to Revenge and Resentment.

Jesus said, “First be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift.” “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

When we fail to forgive others who have hurt us we give in to the spirit of revenge and resentment. The spirit of revenge mushrooms like a cloud of deadly chlorine gas. Resentment is like concrete the longer it goes, the stronger it sets in unwillingness to forgive.

Richard Hoefler’s book Will Daylight Come? Tells how sin enslaves and forgiveness frees.

A little boy visiting his grandparents was given his first slingshot. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit his target.

As he came back to Grandma’s back yard, he spied her pet duck. On an impulse he took aim and let fly. The stone hit, and the duck fell dead.

The boy panicked. Desperately he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister watching. Sall had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch that day, Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn’t you, Johnny?” And she whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So Johnny did the dishes.

Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing. Grandma said, “I’m sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper.” Sally smiled and said, “That’s all taken care of. Johnny wants to do it.” Again she whispered, “Remember the duck.” Johnny stayed while Sally went fishing.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s finally he could stand it no longer. He confessed to Grandma that he had killed the duck.

“I know Johnny,” she said, giving him a hug. “I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you. I forgave you. I wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”

In Matthew 5:38-42 Jesus is saying that when we insist on getting even we bring ourselves down to the level of the one who hurt us and below his level. In getting even we bring more hurt on ourselves. It’s like seeking revenge by shooting yourself with a shotgun in order to hit your enemy with the kick of the gun’s recoil.

In his book, Lee: the Last Years, Charles Bracelen Flood reports that after the Civil War, Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky lady who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her house. There she bitterly cried that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Federal Artillery fire. She looked to Lee for a word condemning the North or at least sympathizing with her loss.

After a brief silence, Lee said, “Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it.” It is better to forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to remain, let bitterness take root, and poison the rest of our life.

The cure for revenge and resentment is forgiveness. Forgiveness for the Christian is not an option. We are commanded to forgive. Colossians 3:13-14, “Forbearing one another and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”