Murder and Forgiveness

I trust you had a blessed Easter this past weekend. As you may still be reflecting on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus below is another story from our recent trip to Liberia. This story reflects much of why Jesus came to die—to bring peace, forgiveness and reconciliation between man and God and also between men.

Brian DeVries had traveled to Liberia once before to teach pastors. Brian, from Minnesota, joined the ANM team to help teach pastors again. With his wife, Kimberly, they also led worship and intercession at the evening meetings with churches in Kakata. From his previous trip, Brian learned about the impact the three civil wars have had in Liberia, including the tremendous amount of pain and suffering the people have gone through. As he prayed for the Lord to direct his messages, God placed in his heart a message on forgiveness. This message included the true story of the five missionaries killed in the late 1950’s by the Waodani tribe—including Nate Saint and Jim Elliot. Each day, Brian prepared to teach this message to the pastors and each day the Lord said “not yet.” Finally the conference for pastors was over. Brian wondered why God had so clearly placed this message on his heart and yet did not free him to teach on forgiveness.

On the last day in Kakata, Brian was asked to preach in one of the local churches. Finally, on this day, God released him to teach on forgiveness. As he shared the story of the missionaries, he then told the people how Elisabeth Elliot, Jim’s wife, and Rachel Saint, Nate’s sister, went to their husbands murderers to tell them of God’s love and forgiveness. As this story was shared, one woman stood up in church. She was visibly shaken, tears streaming down her face, the weight of the world on her shoulders. She came forward and asked Brian to pray for her to forgive her husband’s murderers. During the last war, while holding her wounded husband in her arms, a rebel soldier macheted her husband in half. She has been filled with anger and bitterness ever since. As Brian prayed for God to release her from anger, bitterness and the ability to forgive, the Spirit of God touched her deeply. There was a tremendous sense of a burden lifted, of a heart being filled with peace, and a profound touch of God that comforted her. Amazing! Brian’s message was not for the pastors (the many) but for the one God intended. Who knows how the Lord will use this woman in the lives of other women who have experienced so much pain as she tells the story of God’s healing touch and forgiveness.