Forgiveness, the cure for bitterness and hate

“Love your enemies  ‘You have heard it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,” (Matthew 5:43-44, NKJV)

    Ernest Gordon was a soldier, an Infantry company commander, in the 93^rd Highlanders (The Argylls), of the British Army during World War II. He and his battalion commander were the last to cross the causeway from Singapore to the mainland before the causeway was blown up leaving Singapore in the hands of the invading Japanese in January 1942. The story of his attempt to escape with a handful of other soldiers on a local fishing boat from the Malay Peninsula, across the Indian Ocean to India, is an adventure story that should, by itself, make a riveting and exciting movie that I would love to see. Sadly, it did not end well, as they were captured by a Japanese warship about two thirds of the way to their destination. But as that famous radio announcer Paul Harvey used to say; “now the rest of the story.”

   

     In his book “Miracle on the River Kwai” Captain Gordon tells the story of how desperate men, in the worst possible conditions, cruelly mistreated by the Japanese, and forced to work day after day with poor food and water, built the China to Burma railroad for the Japanese in the heart of the Burmese jungle. The record of the Japanese and their treatment of POW’s is well documented and was in total violation of the Geneva Convention, which their nation had signed. Anyone who has seen the movie or read the book “Unbroken” which chronicles the story of Louis Zamperini as a Japanese POW knows a little bit about how allied prisoners were abused and mistreated by their captors.

   

    But now the story gets exciting, as we read of how a handful of allied POW’s decided they would not join in the natural inclination to look out only for their own needs and took it upon themselves to give of themselves for their fellow man. Two men rescued Captain Gordon from the death tent, where he had been sent to die from diphtheria, and nursed him back to health, giving all of their meager resources and giving him daily massages to his emaciated arms and legs so that he was able to recover.

       Then shortly after he had recovered, Gordon was asked to lead a Bible study, and although he had had no formal training and was a nominal Christian at best, was soon leading others in the truth of the Scriptures and the entire camp became on fire for Jesus and His word! They took care of each other first and learned to love one another no matter whether the person deserved love or not. They even came to care for and love their Japanese captors! Captain Gordon tells the story of a time when they were being moved from one POW camp to another by train and as they were stopped along the route there was a train full of wounded Japanese soldiers that had no one caring for them.

     

     Here is how he described what happened: “The wounded Japanese looked at us forlornly as they sat waiting for death. They had been discarded as expendable, the refuse of war. They were the enemy. They were more cowed and defeated than we had ever been. Without a word most of the officers in my section unbuckled their packs, took part of their rations and a rag or two, and with water canteens in their hands, went over to the Japanese train. Our guards tried to stop us, bawling, ‘No goodka! No goodka!’ But we ignored them and knelt down by the enemy to give water and food, to clean and bind up their wounds. Grateful cries of, ‘Arigato!’ (‘Thank you!’) followed us when we left. ‘What fools you are!’ an Allied officer called from another section of the train. ‘Have you never heard the story of the Good Samaritan?’ I asked him.” (Miracle on the River Kwai by Ernest Gordon)

     

      Dr. Ernest Gordon was so profoundly changed by his conversion to Christ in the jungles of Burma that he surrendered his life to the ministry when he returned to England and later served as the Dean of the Chapel at Princeton University in the U.S., and was President of the Creed House, a Christian rescue effort for the emancipation of the political dissidents from Iron Curtain countries in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

   So our question we might ask ourselves today is, “how well am I doing with this loving my enemies stuff?” Who am I mad at today? Who have I been warring with for quite a while now? Who aggravates me every time they open their mouths or just pass me by? These British and other allied POW’s were able to forgive their Japanese guards and tormentors. They were able to “love their enemies” with a love that does not come from our fleshly selves. It can only come from the Holy Spirit that lives within each born-again believer. Allow Him to take control or your anger and hate. Forgive! Love! The one who will benefit the most is you! And your Heavenly Father will be very pleased with you! The angels will sing a new song in your honor! You will be a different person, and a new creation!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV)

  "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and then remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift at the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled  to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23-24, NKJV)

   Pray

1.     Dear God help me to love my enemies. Help me to go to someone today and tell them that I love them and am praying for them.

2.     That I will be bold in asking forgiveness from anyone I have wronged or anyone that I have harbored bad feelings for.

3.     That I will look for opportunities to do good for those who I have had bad run-ins with in the past and that I will do it with joy in my heart.

4.     That the people of my church will forgive one another as Christ has forgiven us.