Forgiveness Culture

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another,
as God in Christ forgave you
(Ephesians 4:32)

I recently went to see the film “The Great Escaper” starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson. It is based on the true story of 89-year-old British World War 2 Royal Navy veteran Bernard Jordan who broke out of his nursing home to attend the 70th anniversary of D-Day commemorations in France in June 2014. During the film he encounters a group of German veterans in a bar. The meeting is emotionally awkward at first but ends with these formerly bitter enemies reconciling, with some tears. I could relate to this film because my father fought the Nazis in Europe in the first part of WW2 and was subsequently shipped out to the Far East to fight the Japanese forces.
 
Two devastating world wars happened in the twentieth century and current news reports often show conflicts across our war-torn world. In his book “The Art of War” the author strongly advises people to avoid wars if possible because they invariably do more harm than good. However, there are many examples of nations previously at war who have subsequently become reconciled and restored to better relationships.
 
The worldwide Christian church has been riven with conflict in the past, but has evidently entered a period of forgiveness and reconciliation, demonstrating that a new life of hope for the future can come out of conflict.
   
The Christian faith is founded on forgiveness, reconciliation and restoration to new life. These key values are central to the Christian life.
 
Forgiveness from God involves a journey starting with repentance. It takes courage to admit you were wrong, to say sorry and to commit to not repeating that wrongdoing, then accepting God’s forgiveness and moving forward in faith and hope.