Summoned to Forgive

I know that I may seem like a broken record with my incessant references to our need to forgive. I just want you to hear my heart concerning the bottomless pit in relation to comprehending the depth of our need to learn to forgive freely. Having written my heart in print expressing what I have learned over two decades about forgiving freely—I read something that Brennan Manning wrote and I thought—“wow, another glimpse of the fathomless call to forgive.” Our heeding this summons on a daily basis is inextricably linked to being identified as an authentic follower of Jesus! Here is what our brother B. Manning wrote:

The summons to live as forgiven and forgiving children is radically
inclusive. It is addressed not only to the wife whose husband forgot their
wedding anniversary but also to parents whose child was slaughtered by a drunken driver, to the victims of slanderous accusations, and to the poor living in filthy boxes who see the rich drive by in Mercedes....

The demands of forgiveness are so daunting that they seem humanly impossible. The exigencies of forgiveness are simply beyond the capacity of un-graced human will. Only reckless confidence in a Source greater than ourselves can empower us to forgive the wounds inflicted by others. In boundary moments such as these there is only one place to go--- Calvary.

Stay there for a long time and watch as Abba's Only-Begotten dies utterly alone in bloody disgrace. Watch as He breathes forgiveness on His torturers at the moment of their greatest cruelty and mercilessness. On that lonely hill outside the city wall of old Jerusalem, you will experience the healing power of the dying Lord.

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." Mt. 6:14

THIS IS THE GOD OF THE GOSPEL OF GRACE. A GOD WHO, OUT OF LOVE FOR US, SENT THE ONLY SON HE EVER HAD WRAPPED IN OUR SKIN. HE LEARNED HOW TO WALK, STUMBLED AND FELL, CRIED FOR HIS MILK, SWEATED BLOOD IN THE NIGHT, WAS LASHED WITH A WHIP AND SHOWERED WITH SPIT, WAS FIXED TO A CROSS, AND DIED WHISPERING FORGIVENESS ON US ALL.

Last week I summoned an audience to consider forgiving there offenders and afterwards a junior high girl named Emily shared with me her choosing to pray a blessing on her offending “BFF.” She shared that when she prayed a blessing on her friend, her heart was filled with such peace. This young teen, heard the summons to forgive and touched my heart so deeply with her obedience. Jesus whispered “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” so that Emily and I could shout, “I have been freely forgiven, so I can freely forgive you!” May each of us be as bold as Emily, and forgive the boss that offended us this week or the spouse who has been distracted and neglectful or the child that again has made a choice that is hurtful and very disappointing. Why not pause right now and whisper a prayer of forgiveness on your spouse, child or employer? Amen!

A New Pledge of Allegiance

Prior to speaking at a large mother-daughter conference, I was told several of the young girls who would be attending had been molested by a staff member. The staff member would be going to trial in the next two weeks, so the past wounds were being freshly confronted.

The morning of this event, I came across the story of Jarius’s daughter, whom Jesus called back to life after she died: “Talitha koum!” (Mark 5:41). Immediately the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “Today, Jackie, you are going to call some young girls back from the dead.” At the conference, as each mother brought her daughter up to me, I prayed over each of them that Jesus would heal her heart wound—that He would call each child back from the emotionally deadening experience of abuse. Jarius’s daughter was twelve years old when she was raised from the dead, and most of the little girls I prayed with were seventh graders—twelve and thirteen years old.

In the first Scripture Jesus ever read publicly, He said He came to “heal the brokenhearted” (Luke 4:18 nkjv). Isaiah also referred to Jesus as “familiar with suffering” (Isa. 53:3). Jesus’ familiarity with suffering allows Him to heal the brokenhearted, and my familiarity with suffering allows me to be a wounded healer—and a healed forgiver—in His name.

Then the Lord reminded me of a term that I found while researching the name Yeshua—friend of the brokenhearted (see Ps. 34:18). The term is Kardiognostes, meaning “the heart-knower.”6 The minute I remembered this term, I saw my hand over my heart in a pledge, which would be a daily whispered prayer: “Kardiognostes, heal my heart wounds.” I told each of the girls to place her hand over her heart and continually whisper this prayer to Jesus: “Heal my heart wound, Lord.” The healing of such a wound takes time . . . I know this all too well.

At the end of the conference, as I was sitting alone at the airport, I placed my hand over my heart and pledged a new allegiance to the One who is the ultimate healer of heart wounds. While my hand was over my heart, I thanked God for the abuse that I had lived through as a child, because the suffering I had experienced became the very platform of hope that Jesus can use to call a person back from the dead—“the soul-deadening experience of sexual abuse.” Before you go to sleep tonight, place your hand over your heart and ask Jesus to heal any fresh or old heart wound. “If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation” (2 Cor. 1:6, emphasis added).

Excerpt from FREE YOURSELF TO LOVE