Lessons Learned Through Forgiving My Dad’s Murderer

Posted on by

God reveals His truths everywhere.

Colossians 1:23 tells us the Gospel is “proclaimed in all creation under heaven,” and what is the Gospel, but truth.

Colossians 1:23, Gospel, the Gospel, fallen nature, sin nature, truth, God, Jesus, Christ, Christian, Jesus saves, gracious, merciful, God is gracious, God is merciful, redeem, redemption, God saves, why does god save us, why did jesus have to die, lessons learned, loving your enemy, obey god, obedience to god, repentance, murder, forgiving murder, following Jesus, forgive, forgiveness, forgiveness testimony, christian forgiveness, god's plan vs our plan, healing, hope, know your God, jesus died for us, why did jesus die, Matthew 11:29, come to Jesus, coming to Jesus, rest, rest Jesus, lessons from forgiving, lessons from forgiving murder, forgiving the unforgivable,

The Gospel tells us about God. It tells us about our fallen nature. It tells us we serve a merciful and gracious God, who had every reason to simply write off humanity, but instead, choose to die on our behalf.

It speaks of redemption, that we have been redeemed and are being made new. And finally it speaks of restoration, that one day, all things will be made new, and we will live eternally in the presence of God.

What a time that will be.

All of creation proclaims God’s truths to humanity, but God, Himself, also speaks to us, through His Word and in many other subtle ways throughout our life. Each and every time we come to Him, He honors us with His teachings. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” All we must do is simply come to Him every moment of every day, as a child does to his parents, and we will be shown the way.

I have learned much from Jesus in my short time being a Christian. And I know I still have much to learn, but I want to pass along the truths that were given to me through my journey toward forgiveness.

Beginning today, I will be writing a series of smaller posts on each of the lessons I was taught (I apologize for the size of this one! I try to keep my blog posts short, as I know your time is limited, but sometimes the length just gets away from me!). I’d love for you to join me as I explore (and in some cases, relearn) some very important truths.

As a sneak peek into what’s to come, I’ve included a list of what will be covered below. It is my hope that the grace that was so mercifully given to me will be passes along to you…

So, here they are:

  1. In order to follow Jesus, we must know Jesus.
  2. God is bigger. God is bigger than your situation. God is bigger than the sins committed against you. God is bigger than your enemy. God is bigger than your sin. God is bigger than your resistance.
  3. God is in control. We can trust Him.
  4. When Jesus calls, follow.
  5. Sometimes the things God calls us to won’t make sense, but we still must follow.
  6. When we follow Jesus, He accomplishes the impossible.
  7. There will be difficulties along our path, and these difficulties or roadblocks don’t necessarily mean we’re on the wrong path. Just because something is hard doesn’t mean it’s not God’s will.
  8. We can’t allow fear motivate our decisions.
  9. We must be in complete reliance upon Jesus.
  10. We need to wait for the Lord before we take action.
  11. Jesus died for every sin including murder.
  12. We cannot stand in judgement of the sins of others.
  13. We are no better than a repentant murderer. Sin is sin.
  14. No sin is justifiable, but all sin is forgivable.
  15. We cannot compare ourselves to one another to accurately judge our sins or behavior.
  16. Greater understanding brings greater healing.
  17. Repentance is a process.
  18. Though all sin is forgivable, consequences of sin remains.
  19. We must all guard our hearts and assure we aren’t cultivating an environment for sin to grow in our souls.
  20. Only God’s grace can allow us to forgive completely, unconditionally. We must seek Him.
  21. Forgiveness requires us to humble ourselves. The proud never admit they may be wrong or their perspective may be askew. The humble seek to see as Jesus does even if that means they find fault in themselves.
  22. Forgiveness requires a changed heart.
  23. Healing a broken heart requires that we allow God to being us back to our most broken places, into the darkness of our soul in order to see, truly see our situation as God does.
  24. Truth leads to transformation.
  25. We truly are nothing apart from Christ.
  26. We are blessed to be a blessing.
  27. God works all things for good for those who know and live Him.
  28. Maintaining a victim mentality only harms victims further. Forgiveness frees us from this destructive way of thinking.
  29. The call to love our enemy isn’t a concept to be done theoretically, but is intended to be literal and requires action.
  30. Harboring unforgiveness only embitters us and draws the very life from us.
  31. The fruit of obedience is bountiful.
  32. The written word is powerful.
  33. Sometimes God speaks loudly, other times He simply whispers.
  34. Going on a journey with Jesus is quite an adventure.
  35. Jesus, truly, brings sight to the blind.
  36. Jesus goes before us.
  37. Forgiveness requires action.
  38. The Christian life is not one marked by passivity, but instead, it requires that we step out in faith, empowered by the spirit, to do whatever it is that Jesus lays on our hearts.
  39. God’s plan is far greater than ours.
  40. No matter how hard it gets, if you know Jesus led you down this path, don’t give up!

{It is God’s truth that saves.}

To read more about my journey toward forgiveness, read Freedom Through Grace or {Redemption} Your Testimony May Have Saved a Life.