We are Christians. We had to forgive them because they asked for forgiveness.
These are the words of an unidentified Rwandan woman referring to those guilty of genocide in her country–even against her own relatives. She had just heard the confession of one of the killers. Some of his words:
Every Tutsi, you would go to their house and loot everything and then kill them. After killing them, you stripped them naked.
How is such forgiveness possible?
As I wrestled with that question, I read 1 Peter 2:4-5:
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
“We are Christians,” she said. She and others like her are the “living stones” that make up the church, God’s spiritual house. By coming to him (Jesus Christ), Christians are being built up (strengthened) to offer spiritual sacrifices (such as forgiveness) through Jesus Christ. Repeat: Through Jesus Christ.
Jesus is how such forgiveness is possible. Of our own strength, we desire revenge. Empowered by Jesus, we offer forgiveness.
