Luke 23: 34Jesus said, ‘Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Forgiveness
is the cornerstone of Christianity and Jesus demonstrated and instilled this
while he was on the cross. He came not to condemn but to save all sinners and
in His dying breath He cried out to the Father to forgive them, for they do not
know what they are doing. Such is the merciful heart of God as demonstrated
through His son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus had no
bitterness and anger in Him as He suffered on the cross, He showed grace and
love to all those who had done Him wrong on that day.
Interestingly,
on Palm Sunday the radical terrorists bombed two Coptic Churches in Egypt
killing over 50 people and injuring hundreds of worshippers in Church.
Ordinarily if this was to have happened to other non-Christians, there would
have been the war cry to avenge the death and injury of so many. There would be
the cry for blood from the non-Christians.
However we
see that in the days that followed, the Bishop of the Coptic Church came out
publicly to extend love and forgiveness to all the terrorists who attacked the
Churches. He did what Jesus did to forgive all who had come against the
Churches. In addition he poured out more love upon the heads of those terrorists.
He even said ‘thank you’ to them for giving the believers the opportunity to
suffer just like Jesus did and also to quicken their journey to the kingdom of
heaven.
Such is the
love that was displayed by the Bishop and Church members; they literally lived
the lives of lambs that were led to be slain. They had no weapons, they had no
thoughts of vengeance, and they only had love and forgiveness.
This is true
Christian value as the Church has been instructed by Jesus Christ and the apostles
to love and forgive. We can start by loving and forgiving those in the Church
who have wrong and slandered us.
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