Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Tuesday May 22, 2007

I don't suppose I will ever tire of writing about forgiveness. From gossip I heard as a young believer, this must be due to the fact that I have trouble doing this. I recall one Sunday afternoon back in the age of dinosaurs roaming the earth that the dear pastor that morning had preached on the now unmentioned sin of adultery. One of the dinner guests was certain that pastor had a trouble with that sin, because he had preached on the very same sin two years almost to the day. Hence you have my theological reasoning for my knowledge that I will always preach on forgiving those who trespass against me.

Hey, the above reasoning is light years of the some of the "doctrine" I have heard over the years. And not just from women preachers!

As far as I know every Christian in the Western world has at least heard of the five missionaries killed in Ecuador back in 1955. Through a series of miracles of forgiveness on the part of the widows, relatives and friends of the martyrs, a young woman named Dayuma from the jungle went to live with Rachel Saint. In the course of time Dayuma received Christ as savior and the widows of the martyrs along with Rachel, the sister of Nate, went into the jungle to attempt to reach the tribe for Christ. Their success is the story of one of the most effective and heart warming sagas of all time.

I heard about the slaughter of the men at the old radio and then years later I read the book, "Through Gates of Splendor" the account of the effort.

Along the line Rachel Saint was asked, "Why did you go to those awful people who killed your brother?" Rachel's answer is one that brings the old Southern shout to the surface and one that also hurts my heart as I acknowledge the hard time I have with forgiveness:

"The fact that they killed my own brother just underscored the reason for my going to them in the first place."

I came across this account in Carol Hoikkala's news letter, "Hope For The Heart" sent out monthly primarily to female prisoners.

To say the Auca Indians despitefully used the missionaries is understatement. As I recall the entire tribe over the years turned to Christ in faith, and several traveled the world giving their testimony to the fact.

This true story has longed stirred me, and after these years of pastoring and witnessing the littleness of God's people, I am always moved when I see or hear of normal Christians such as the main players in this true account.

Such forgiveness is not normal in the world of the lost. According to Jesus such forgiveness is to be the norm in the realm of the redeemed. Easy to preach. May the Lord Jesus help me/us?

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2007 Use with credit.

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