forgiven

Tonight I saw a powerful documentary about Rwanda and forgiveness. To make a long story short, in 100 days in 1994 1 million Tutsi Rwandans were killed by Hutu Rwandans-their literal neighbors. A few years ago the government realized they could not keep all the killers in jail so they released them back to their communities, to resume their lives alongside the surviving neighbors whose families they murdered. The Rwandan government and churches are now organizing a movement of forgiveness and reconciliation.

As we follow the stories of 2 female survivors, who lost their husbands, children, and entire families, it is so amazing to see their willingness to forgive and find the freedom that comes from that forgiveness.

But even more remarkable to me were the stories of the 2 men who killed the families of these women. The pain and shame they carried were visible, and the guilt for what they had done was overwhelming them. One man said, "I did not believe there could be any deliverance for me." Through the prison ministry of Bishop John Rucyahana, both men came to find freedom in the forgiveness of Christ.

It is a beautiful and transcendent thing to see forgiveness lived out...and not just forgiveness of small things, like hurt feelings, or lies, or even stealing. We are talking about forgiving people who confess to killing your entire family. It made me realize how truly revolutionary God's forgiveness of us is. We are all as bad as these murderers, yet God is ready and even eager to forgive us of everything, because he wants us to be free from the burdens of our sin and guilt. And the freedom in those men's faces when they were forgiven was literally transformational.

O God, let me never forget the unfathomable greatness of your forgiveness, and may I always be quick to forgive others.

In the words of Bishop John, forgiveness "is not human, its divine."