The Transforming Power Of Forgiveness
He [Saul]… tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him.
Acts 9:26
Saul of Tarsus, public enemy number one of the church!
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Yet God had plans for Saul to become his chosen vessel, to bear his name before the Gentiles, to spread his truth far and wide.
At first the church had grave doubts about Saul. H. A. Ironside shares this illustration of the response only God can produce toward an enemy-turned-brother.
WALK WITH H. A. IRONSIDE
“On the Lord’s Day a group of missionaries and believers in New Guinea were gathered together to observe the Lord’s Supper.
“After one young man sat down, a missionary recognized that a sudden tremor had passed through the young man’s body that indicated he was under a great nervous strain. Then in a moment all was quiet again.
“The missionary whispered, ‘What was it that troubled you?’
“ ‘Ah,’ he said, ‘But the man who just came in killed and ate the body of my father. And now he has come in to remember the Lord with us.’
“ ‘At first I didn’t know whether I could endure it. But it is all right now. He is washed in the same precious blood.’
“And so together they had Communion. It is a marvelous thing, the work of the Holy Spirit of God. Does the world know anything of this?”
WALK CLOSER TO GOD
Is it really possible to truly forgive a former enemy who is now your Christian brother or sister? Consider:
From the cross, Jesus forgave those responsible for putting him there. The Jerusalem believers forgave the man who formerly sought to destroy them. A young man in New Guinea found strength to forgive his father’s murderer. Indeed, does the world know anything of this? Do you know anything of this?
