HURT

How do you pray for someone that has hurt or disappointed you in a major way? If you turn on the TV today or see news of any kind on the internet or even see those old-fashioned media devices such as Newspapers or Magazines you may have noticed that on any given page/feed there is most likely at least one story about sexual harassment. It is a conversation that needs to be had and one that is long overdue. It is a sad conversation but I am glad that the voices are being heard and that progress may be just on the horizon. This is one of those things that most people (or at least I) don't like to talk about. It's icky and uncomfortable. But the dirty ugly truth is that it affects most of us if not in an indirect way. If it has not happened to us it has happened to someone we know and care about. And because of that, we need to talk about it. About how to confront it and how to deal with it and as Christians, how to forgive it. Recently there was an incident in my family. Details will not be forthcoming to protect those involved. The event was something completely and totally out of left field. The family member involved was someone you never would have guessed or imagined would or could do something so heinous. But the fact of the matter is that it happened. Talking with others in the family about this and about how betrayed and confused we were the question came about... “How do I pray for someone that has done something like this? How do I forgive that person?” Two very big and very valid questions to try to answer. My human side says you can’t. It is unforgivable and they should spend the rest of their life behind bars. But then we have to step back and think about it from a larger point of view. To be cliché, what would Jesus do? Forgive. Yes, Jesus would forgive this person. Provided that person repent and turn from that way of life. That this person turns and runs headlong into the arms of Jesus and faces the hard truth about who they were becoming. The Bible tells us that any sin can be forgiven if you turn to Christ. And don’t get me wrong, just because you forgive someone, does not mean you forget. To forget would be dangerous. To forget would be to invalidate the victims. To forget would be to diminish the transformation we all can make when we turn from our life of sin. Sometimes, and now track with me, I am not trying to justify any criminal action, but sometimes our past deeds, the actions that took us into the deepest valley can be the very thing that brings someone else out of it. Here is what I mean. Someone who is struggling with addiction and is trying to turn their life around may be more willing to listen to someone who has “been there, done that” rather than someone that has lived a very “clean” life. This person can show them there is hope. There is a way out of the valley. There is life after drinking... drugs... pornography... Insert whatever here. My point is, it shows them that they can come through it. They can turn their lives around and they can begin again. And don’t we all need that? And is that not why Jesus came? To show us a better way? To give us the hope of eternal life with him. To answer the question. I think we need to pray for that person to have a repentant heart. For that person to take a close look at themselves and to find what truly is important in life. For that person to find the hope that Jesus can bring and begin a new life in Christ. We pray for that person to start over. We can forgive but we do not have to forget.