Finding Forgiveness

In our quest for emotional wholeness, it is important that we receive God's forgiveness and extend forgiveness to others.  Jesus spoke of the power of forgiveness in Luke chapter 17:
3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

The repair of our hearts from emotional bondage has, as one of its components, the forgiveness of those who have wronged us.  We can certainly choose to be weighed down in anger and bitterness, driven by hostility and revenge.  This, however, is not the way that God has intended.  When we allow the love of Christ to propel us to forgive, we can release a powerful force that can change us internally and affect the way we relate to others.

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The Bible reminds us that God loves us so much and He is interested in the restoration of our lives,
including the healing of the wounds of our hearts. Ephesians 4 states:
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

Perhaps you have seen the images or heard about the girl known as "Napalm Girl" from the war in Vietnam.  A Faithwire story is based on recent comments by the young lady who was pictured as "running in panic" "after a bomb landed nearby and burned the clothes right off her body." It relates, based on a recent video presentation:

She was so traumatized by not only the attack, which she recalls in vivid detail. “I saw the airplane and it’s so loud, so close to me. Suddenly, the fire everywhere around me. The fire burned off my clothes, and I saw my arm burned with the fire...” she explained.

Things apparently deteriorated in her life.  The article says:

By 1982, she was suicidal, because, as she says, “I thought after I die, no more suffering, no more pain.”

At her most desperate hour, as she contemplated the horrific decision of taking her own life, God had other plans. She “found” the New Testament in the library in Saigon.

By Christmas of that year, she had become a Christian.

And, because she experienced God's forgiveness for her, Phan Thi Kim Phúc was able to forgive those who did her harm.  She states: “Forgiveness set my heart free. I forgive everyone who caused my suffering. Even the pilot, commander, people controlling me..."

Kim now makes her home in Canada - she is a wife, mother, and grandmother.  She spoke several months ago in Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Inquirer reported:

In 1982, she converted to Christianity. Ten years later, Phúc and her husband walked away from a flight to Moscow that had stopped in Newfoundland and requested political asylum from the Canadian government. She is now a Canadian citizen.

“I learned the lesson of forgiveness.” Phúc said. “I want to learn how to give back. I want to keep my dream alive to help people.”

She has established the Kim Phúc Foundation, which is devoted to alleviating the suffering of children who are victims of violence and war.

The article notes she also is an international speaker.  It also reported that Kim was not initially treated for her injuries, because it was believed she would not survived.  Ultimately, she did receive treatment, including 16 operations from the time of the incident, in 1972, through 1984.

Kim's story certainly reminds us about the force of forgiveness.  The release of forgiveness can heal old wounds internally and perhaps, in matters of relationships, bring people to a fresh understanding of one another.  But, we don't forgive with the expectation of getting something in return - we forgive because it is consistent with Scripture and represents what God has done for us in Christ in forgiving our sins.

We recognize in our world today that there are victims of war - physically and spiritually.  We can be mindful of and respectful to those who have fought bravely for our country, no doubt. We can also remember the walking wounded who are attempting to navigate this life with deep spiritual and emotional wounds, and who are perhaps compensating for those by carrying on in unhealthy relationships with others.  As it's been said, "hurt people hurt people."  We can examine our own hearts and allow Christ's love and forgiveness to flow.

Kim was struggling following her difficult set of circumstances; certainly she was a victim of war.  She went into a Saigon library and found the Bible.  We can reflect on how God "finds" us, and allows us to discover and encounter Him.  He has come to seek and save the lost - and we were all in that condition: apart from Him and needing a Savior.  He loves us so much that He draws us to Himself, He stands at our heart's door and knocks, and we can rejoice in the love He has for us.