Forgiveness
Jamie Buckingham
January 1, 1981
Scripture says, "Let no root of bitterness grow up among Vou." Yet we often see it. Parishioner against pastor. Husband against wife. Church splits. Long-time grievances. Sometimes it seems the log-jam can never be broken, that the wounds are too deep.
But the Holy/ Spirit works beyond?/olZd ourselves. Jamie Buckingham, in his book, Coping with Criticism, relates a heartening, story, one that shows God at work, even in tile bitterness of decades.
Two years ago I was invited to lead an interdenominational conference for missionaries in Thailand. Sponsored by an ad hoc committee, it was the first time the various Protestant and evangelical missionaries had ever come together with the Roman Catholic priests and nuns for a teaching retreat. The first day was tense as some of the evangelicals were forced to interface with the Roman Catholics. However, by the end of the second day the atmosphere had cleared, and it seemed the groups were actually going to be able to flow together in some kind of unity.
The final afternoon, meeting in a large, screened pavilion overlooking the gulf, I spoke on forgiveness. At the close of my teaching session, even before I left the speaker's stand, a Roman Catholic nun stepped forward from the group. She was French, and had been a missionary to the Thai people for a number of years. She knelt before me and crossed herself.
"For many years I have held deep grudges against the Protestants who came into Thailand and built on the foundations laid by the Catholic church. I have been highly critical and I need forgiveness. Will you pray for me?"
I started to respond, for it was the very subject I had been teaching about. But as I stepped forward to pray for her, I felt checked. I stepped back and heard myself ...
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