18May
It was my first sermon. For approximately 20 minutes, I droned away before a group of about 50 men at the Union Gospel Mission in Dallas, Texas. Some made no effort to resist, merely laying their head on their neighbor’s shoulder and snoozing away.
I do not recall my text or topic, but I do remember my closing illustration. I will not repeat it here. The story ended with lightning striking a man dead. I coordinated my account, “…and lightning struck him dead” by slamming my fist into the pulpit in conjunction with the word “struck.” As you can imagine, everybody, whether drunk, sober, awake or asleep, jumped! I quickly gave the invitation and sat down.
As the men were filing into the lunchroom, which was the reason they endured my monotonous toned speech. One of the mission workers directed me to a man who wanted to talk with me. We were ushered to a room where I sat with a man who was probably in his early 40’s, and I was 16. I shared the Gospel with him and asked him if he wanted to receive Christ. His response, “I don’t think God can forgive me.” I assured him that God would forgive anyone who asked for forgiveness. He countered with, “You don’t understand. I just got out of prison for killing my wife and mother-in-law.” I was rather nonplused, and so I just pretended that I knew what I was doing.
I must believe the “water into wine” miracle story (John 2) because God turned my ignorance into an effective Gospel presentation. Within just a few minutes, I was kneeling with the man as he prayed and asked God to forgive him for a double homicide. I connected the man with a mission worker, and as suddenly as he had come into my life, he was gone. But now, he was not alone!
Why would God “just forgive” a murderer? Without getting all theological, I will answer it this way; God just wanted to forgive him. Did his actions repulse God? Yes! The man had destroyed two people made in the image of God (Genesis 9:6), and God just forgave him, because he wanted to forgive!
Is there somebody you “can’t forgive?” Paul urges us all, “Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13 NIV) We do not deserve forgiveness. We have violated God’s holiness far more than any person has ever offended any other person. From the shadows of your pain and betrayal, you respond, “But you don’t know what happened to me!” And indeed, I do not! I do not know the height and depth of your anguish, but God does! God is the one who told Paul to tell us to forgive as we have been forgiven. You insist, “I can’t forgive!” I understand. I would urge you to do one thing right; call it what it is and say, “I will not forgive!” God understands violation, He will help you with forgiveness if you want.
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