Family Virtues – Forgiveness and Mercy

If the burden of pain and resentment are
weighing you down, give up your burdens to
Christ through forgiveness and His mercy.

Christmas is a significant time of year, and not because many stores enter into the black during this chaotic shopping rage known as the holiday season. No, Christmas is significant and relevant to millions of people and for centuries before and yet to come because we celebrate Christ. We love to give gifts and get together with family, but through Christ we can find mercy and forgiveness, which are priceless gifts. 

We as parents can teach our children the power of forgiveness, even if those that have wronged us aren’t asking for it. With forgiveness, it is just as important to give as it is to receive.

Let me summarize a story I’ve been reading to illustrate this point. The original story is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. It’s a story of survival, resilience and redemption. It is not a story for the faint of heart. It’s from the World War II experiences of Louie Zamperini, and the suffering can be difficult to fathom and possibly more difficult to forget.

Louie was a Bombardier on a B-24 Liberator starting in October 1942. After several successful bombing trips, Louie and the crew crashed in the Pacific Ocean on May 27, 1943. After 43 days of surviving on little to no food in a small rubber raft, while sharks attacked and even jumped onto their boat, Louie and one other survivor were taken captive by the Japanese. Louie was taken to multiple Japanese POW camps, while his family was told he was dead. For more than two years, Louie was starved, kicked, beat and forced to live in conditions deplorable enough that thousands died from starvation and exposure.

Most of the men that lived through the POW camps came home as broken men. They suffered anxiety, nightmares and fits of rage. Louie was haunted in his dreams by a Japanese officer that constantly sought out Louie while in the POW camps. Louie eventually used alcohol to drown his anxiety and nightmares. He was on the verge of losing his wife and daughter because of his alcoholism and abusive behavior. In a final effort, his wife asked Louie to listen to a preacher that was in Los Angeles. They went and the preacher talked about why God allows people to suffer and how God can help us through those troubled times. Louie was feeling anger and was ready to walk out when he finally remembered a promise he made when he was near death on a small yellow boat in the middle of the Pacific. He said, “If you will save me, I will serve you forever.”

Louie was miraculously relieved of his burden he had carried for four years, since being freed from Japan. A miracle only made possible by the power of Christ. Louie forgave his former guards and tormentors. He even felt compassion for the one man who had repeatedly beat him unconscious.

How is it possible to have years of torture and pain erased in an instant? How is it possible to forgive the men responsible for viciously destroying and murdering unarmed captives? How is it possible to remove a burden so heavy it consumes your every thought - even when you are asleep - in an instant?

The answer came in the form of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. At Christmas we celebrate the life that allows healing and peace. At Christmas we sing praises for the one who gave his life to save ours. At Christmas we give gifts in honor of the one who offers the supreme gift of exaltation.

So starting now, give the gift of forgiveness and accept the mercy Christ offers. Forgive those that have wronged you and give the burden to the Lord. He is mighty to save. The sooner we can teach our children to forgive and find mercy in Christ, the sooner they will find peace. 

Next Week: Family Virtues – Thrift and Industry