Forgiveness
Forgive?
You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts (2 Corinthians 3:2-3).
Living, Breathing Letters
In this passage Paul is claiming the Corinthian Christians as the fruit of his labor. He presents them to the world as letters of Christ to be known and read by all. They are the Christ that the known world would experience in their time.
Recently we have witnessed firsthand in panoramic view a living letter such as mentioned in Corinthians. A living letter produced by the Holy Spirit in the person of 18-year-old Brandt Jean. It took one act, one brave unimaginable act to reverberate the gospel of forgiveness around the world.
A jury convicted Amber Guyger of the murder of 26-year-old Botham Jean. The fatal shooting occurred approximately a year ago. A year for Brandt to grieve his brother and to contemplate the content of his impact statement. No doubt he was fully aware of the sentiments of his parents and his grandmother. But he had to own up to his own sentiments, his owns thoughts, his own words. When his moment finally came, with nervous certainty, he spoke ”I forgive you… I want the best for you…”
Unpopular Courage
Why was this courageous? Although he is not in a class all by himself, there are others who’s lost loved ones and have made the choice to forgive. However, Brandt’s proclamation of forgiveness occurred on a high-profile media platform on a world stage. Along with the glory of spreading the gospel of forgiveness in this forum, like the ministers of the gospel in the first century church, there came ridicule and criticisms.
When Judge Tammy Kemp momentarily stepped out of her office as judge and became a companion in the gospel to first comfort the grieving family and then to witness Christ to the convicted, she also subjected herself to criticism. The officer who comforted Amber by stroking her hair also opened herself to the same. Finally, when the jury in that courtroom, the same jury who had found her guilty of murder, handed down a lighter sentence than some expected, we saw justice extend mercy. Brandt, Judge Kemp, the officer and the jury showed Christ that day. This could have only been orchestrated by God.
The Adversarial Response
Paul the Apostle said where good is, evil is always present. Be clear, to have an opposing opinion is not evil. But when the opposing opinion drives one to, for instance, take out Joshua Brown, a key witness, then it is evil manifested. We must remember the adversary always tries to counter the impact of good with a supposedly equal and opposite impact. The intention? To overshadow the good done; to reek havoc and sperm seeds of hatred and revenge.
We see the juxtaposition of Botham’s Christian walk as Joshua spoke of hearing Botham singing gospel songs on one hand but also seeing him smoking marijuana. A song leader in the church smoking weed? A blow to the faithful Christian he was said to be? My response to that is salvation is a gift, it is instant. However, a holy life develops over time. We are striving for perfection. Paul, mature in the faith, admits he was continually pressing toward the goal to be like Christ (Philippians 3:12-16). So are we all.
Reflections
Since the shooting there were strong overtones of white targeting black. Unrelenting, repeated incidents of this nature no doubt angers the black community and the killing of Joshua Brown seems to validate the sentiments. We as Christians of all nationalities have to arrive at a place like Brandt did, where we see no color. We see people, much like ourselves. We have to examine our biases, the ones that we tuck away and only speak freely of in the company of like-minded individuals. Hard pill? Yes, it is, especially when you are the object of hatred. But so was Jesus.
In every aspect of our lives as Christians, we should be conscious that there are people reading us. What do we as letters of Christ say? Our lives, what we do and say may not have a global platform but it has the attention of the world we live, work and play in. How does our lives read? There are many convicted souls walking in and around us daily who have not broken the law of the land but yet are themselves broken, convicted of sin. We must proclaim Christ by embracing them, seeing no color, rather seeing yourself as you once were.
We don’t have just the stories in the Bible to relate the power of God. If there were to be a second volume of the Bible written, YOU would be in it. It’s real people. The Bible is not only in the pages of a book. It’s moved from the pages to your front door! If we can only shout in jubilation at the triumph of God in the lives of the heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 and not be able to point to ourselves as a hero of faith at some juncture in our lives (no matter how small the incident may seem), then we have yet to know the power of the God of the Bible, to know the Jesus that came to save us or the Holy Spirit that came to change us. Again, Christianity is not only the telling God’s relationship with humankind 2,000 year old ago, it is the telling of a relevant, relatable faith that worked back then and still works and is alive and well today.
LIVE THE STORY YOU WANT TO TELL!
See a short video of Brandt’s impact statement on the sidebar under “Ordinary People Doing the Extraordinary”.
27 COMMENTS
Thank you for your very explicit recount and relevant reminder that we are the living letters
Yes, this was a great illustration of what God requires of us.
All the writings are authentic, they come from your soul where the spirit lies. God moves us in ways that not only help ourselves, but also edifies as well as gives comforts to others. YES, YES, YES without question HE knows our names, as we should Know HIM. Wonderful words of compassion, truth, and love. A message 0f being alert from the spiritual perspective is GOD’s wonderful way of saying to be wise as serpents but harmless as doves. to always be on the lookout for the enemy, but to always have a forgiving heart, Enjoyed this Bolg completely. May GOD bless the love of my life.
Yes, the attitude of forgiveness reminds me of the song “more of You and less of me”. And we’ve certainly witnessed the “more” of God here.
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