Forgiving the face of evil

• Today was an interesting day in the land of Joyce. Someone near and dear to my heart had an emotional trigger that took him down memory lane.  Unfortunately his memories are the things night mares are made of.  The child hood he spoke of was not full of sweet dreams and thoughts of a parents love.  His childhood was filled with torture and abuse that most of us will, thankfully, never know.  The stories I heard made my hair curl. My heart was heavy as I heard story after story of the life of a child that should have been filled with happy laughter and sunshine, but instead was filled with fear and pain that a child can not and should not have to understand.  I asked why he still associated with the tormentors and I was informed that he had chosen to forgiven them and all was well with his soul. Those are very bold words.  We all have a choice. We can let the past eat us alive, or we can chose to let it go and forgive. This is when you have to remind yourself that "You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you."  Forgiveness does not mean that what the evil doers did was in any way acceptable. It means that the sin committed against you not longer controls your life.  I had glimpses of his past before, and even then, I marveled at the level of forgiveness in which he claimed to operate.  In fact I truly and honestly thought he was confusing denial with forgiveness.  But as the story unfolded today, I realized that this incredible person had truly chosen to forgive his tormentors and live a life free of hatred and strife.  He admits that it took a number of years to get to this point, but as an old song says "he learned to live again, as he learned to forgive, one memory at a time".
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• Driving home I prayed and asked God "How do you forgive the face of evil?" Surely it can not be that easy?  Being mean is one thing, but how do you forgive someone who so obviously laid awake at night and thought up new ways of torturing the children they were suppose to protect?  At this time, God reminded me of Corrie Ten Boom.  She looked into the face of evil every day while imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camps and still managed to find a way to forgive her captors. That is not to say that both, Corrie and this person did not separate themselves from the tormentors, it is just saying that they no longer allowed the evil that was forced upon them to control their lives.
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• The hard part for me is to not pick up the offense on behalf of this person. My flesh wants to yell and scream and show this evil to the world.  But, that is not acceptable. Than I would be no better than they are.  I can not afford to have my blessings hindered because I have chosen not to forgive. Forgiveness is absolutely crucial to living a peaceful life in this present era before we transition to heaven. God tells us to forgive for our benefit, not His. If the victim can learn to forgive, than who am I to not forgive on my end.  Forgiveness is not an option.The moral of the story??? Forgive often, forgive always, and forgive the way Jesus forgave.

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