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NOTES FROM THE VALLEY - October 7, 2001
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil for you are with me." Psalm 23.
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TOPIC: DO WE FORGIVE OR AVENGE TERRORISM ?
"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves
with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with
each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:12-14
I appreciate all the feedback we received from last week's edition, "What
Next?" Both camps (the angry and the fearful) weighed in with their
opinions about what they think our President should do in response to the
terrorist attacks on our nation. I appreciate what everyone had to say.
And I deeply appreciate the number of people who signed the pledge to pray
for the President and our national leaders in this time of crisis.
President Bush has repeatedly commented on how much he appreciates and needs
those prayers and how God has touched his life in response to those prayers.
One response I received to the edition was very troubling. From the tone of
the response, I'm assuming the writer lives outside the United States, or
lives here but is not a citizen. By his confession, however, he is a born
again Christian who loves the Lord and, therefore, is my brother. I did not
agree with my brother's comments. In fact, I strongly disagreed. That I
should feel such disunity with a brother in Christ, however, was very
troubling to me. So this week has been a time of considerable struggling to
come to grips with the significant differences in our views about how we as
Christians should respond to acts of terrorism that killed so many on
September 11th. Because "Notes" was started as a ministry for encouraging
each other as we struggle "through the valley" each week, I'm going to share
my struggle with you. I'm certain I'm not the only one who has been
confronted with the subject of forgiveness in the midst of this nation's
preparations to bring our attackers to justice. I believe the issue of
forgiveness is one all of us must deal with as part of the healing process
that our Lord is taking us through.
To summarize my brother's comments, he feels we Americans are a prideful
people who consider ourselves better than the rest of the world for a
variety of reasons. We are also a very vengeful people, quick to respond in
anger when we are treated poorly by others. My brother feels that we, as a
nation, should seize the opportunity we now have before us to change the
world by responding to our enemies with forgiveness rather than force. He
strongly believes that such a demonstration of the Christian virtue of
forgiveness, will start a great movement of conversion to Christianity and
an era of true peace in the world. He also feels, if we do not respond with
forgiveness, we will be acting contrary to God's will for us and we will
suffer greatly because of it.
On the surface, my brother's comments ring very true. In the words of
Christ we read: "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their
sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)
But, as I mentioned to my brother in one of my first responses, there is
much more in the Bible on forgiveness than just this passage, including what
I believe to be more clarifying words from Christ. Jesus speaking to Saul
on the road to Damascus said: "I am sending you to them to open their eyes
and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so
that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are
sanctified by faith in me." Acts 26:17-18
Clearly, Jesus indicates to Saul (Paul) that forgiveness first comes from
God to those who open their eyes and turn from darkness to light, who turn
from Satan to God. We can be the messengers of that grace to unbelievers,
but we are NOT the ones doing the forgiving. Man turns, God forgives, and
then the forgiven become our brothers in Christ. Paul clarifies this
relationship with unbelievers further in one of his letters to the Church,
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and
wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"
2 Corinthians 6:14
Our call to forgive men then, it would seem, is conditioned towards those
who have been forgiven by God and have been sanctified by faith into the
family of God. This distinction becomes clearer in Christ's words from the
Book of Luke, "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive
him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes
back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." Luke 17:3-4 (NIV)
Charles H. Spurgeon explains it this way in his book All of Grace: "In Acts
5:31 we read that Jesus is "exalted to give repentance and forgiveness of
sins." These two blessings come from that sacred hand which once was nailed
to the tree, but is now raised to glory. Repentance and forgiveness are
riveted together by the eternal purpose of God . . . In the very nature of
things, if we believe in the holiness of God, it must be so, that if we
continue in our sin, and will not repent of it, we cannot be forgiven, but
must reap the consequence of our obstinacy. According to the infinite
goodness of God, we are promised that if we will forsake our sins,
confessing them, and will, by faith, accept the grace which is provided in
Christ Jesus, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But, so long as God lives, there can
be no promise of mercy to those who continue in their evil ways, and refuse
to acknowledge their wrongdoing. Surely no rebel can expect the King to
pardon his treason while he remains in open revolt. No one can be so foolish
as to imagine that the Judge of all the earth will put away our sins if we
refuse to put them away ourselves."
So, if we are not called to forgive or be in community with unbelievers,
then what is our relationship to be with them? As Jesus sent Paul to open
men's eyes to grace, so we have the great commission to share the Gospel
with all men. And, according to Paul's letter to the Romans, "If it is
possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not
take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written:
"It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord." Romans 12:18-19
(KJV)
We are NOT called to forgive those who so ruthlessly killed the defenseless
on September 11th. Neither are we called to take revenge upon them. So
what is our response to be? How do we stay within the will of God? How do
we let go of our anger and "leave room for God's wrath?"
Thousands of years ago, Moses led the nation of Israel out of Egypt. When
they were probably at their most vulnerable and defenseless position, the
Amalekites launched a vicious attack against them. God later appointed Saul
as the King and sent Samuel, His prophet, to Saul with this message,
" . . . This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish the Amalekites
for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from
Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that
belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and
infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'" 1 Samuel 15:1-3 (NIV)
The King of Israel, appointed by God and guided by God, became the
instrument of God's wrath against those who cold-heartedly attacked and
murdered His chosen people. And as scary as that may be for some of you, I
believe it is the only acceptable course of action for us today. The
President of these United States, appointed by God and guided by God, will
become the instrument of God's wrath against those who have committed a
great evil against God's children. I don't profess to know what form that
wrath will take. That is in God's hands - not ours. But we as Americans
and Christians, must take our guidance from the Book of Romans: "Everyone
must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority
except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been
established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is
rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring
judgment on themselves . . . For he is God's servant to do you good. But if
you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. HE IS
GOD'S SERVANT, AN AGENT OF WRATH TO BRING PUNISHMENT ON THE WRONGDOER."
Romans 13:1-4 (NIV) (Emphasis added)
And that, my brothers and sisters, is why I have so fervently asked that all
of us be in prayer for Mr. Bush and all the leaders appointed over us. It
is my strong belief that our only hope for the future, our only chance of
being firmly within God's will for us as a people and a nation, is to have
leaders who will seek Him on every decision and serve Him with their every
action in the days ahead. It is NOT our revenge that we must be praying
for, but God's hand upon our President. May he be the faithful servant of
God's judgement upon the doers of this great evil. In Jesus Name - Amen.
I remain His servant and your brother in Christ,
sheltered under His wing and overwhelmed by His love,
Steve Hall
THROUGH THE VALLEY
(Author Ernest Gordon, "Through the Valley of the Kwai")
We found ourselves on the same track with several carloads of Japanese
wounded after we were freed from the Kwai prison camp. These unfortunates
were on their own without medical care. No longer fit for action in Burma,
they had been packed into railway cars which were being returned to Bangkok.
They were in a shocking state. I have never seen men filthier. Uniforms were
encrusted with mud, blood, and excrement. Their wounds, sorely inflamed and
full of pus, crawled with maggots. The maggots, however, in eating the
putrefying flesh, probably prevented gangrene. It was apparent why the
Japanese were so cruel to their prisoners. If they didn't care for their
own, why should they care for us?
The wounded looked at us forlornly as they sat with their heads resting
against the carriages, waiting for death. They had been discarded as
expendable, the refuse of war. These were the enemy. They were more cowed
and defeated than we had ever been.
Without a word most of the officers in my section unbuckled their packs,
took out part of their ration and a rag or two, and, with water canteens in
their hands, went over to the Japanese train. Our guards tried to prevent
us, bawling, "No goodka! No goodka!" But we ignored them and knelt down by
the enemy to give water and food, to clean and bind up their wounds.
Grateful cries of "Aragatto!" ("Thank you") followed us when we left.
I regarded my comrades with wonder. Eighteen months ago they would have
joined readily in the destruction of our captors had they fallen into their
hands. Now these same officers were dressing the enemy's wounds. We had
experienced a moment of grace, there in those bloodstained railway cars. God
had broken through the barriers of our prejudice and had given us the will
to obey His command, "Thou shalt love."
Editors Note: Please read Romans 12:20-21
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Copyright © 1998-2001 by Stephen J. Hall - Weekly letters of
encouragement to Christians written by Stephen J. Hall unless otherwise
indicated. Notes from the Valley and Humor from the Valley are meant to
brighten your day and encourage you along the way. Most of "Notes" and
"Humor" are a collection of items provided to me by subscribers and friends.
Credit is given to both the contributor and to the true author, where known.
If you are blessed by them, please feel free to make copies and pass them
along to others. If you have something you'd like to contribute to a future
edition or would like to ask us a question or make a comment, please contact
us at:
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Your love, God, is my song, and I'll sing it! I'm forever telling everyone
how faithful you are. I'll never quit telling the story of your love - how
you built the cosmos and guaranteed everything in it. Your love has always
been our lives foundation, your fidelity has been the roof over our world.
(Psalm 89:1-3 The Message)