Thinking About Forgiveness
One year ago, an armed man entered an Amish school in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, and shot five young girls. The Amish community rightly grieved but publicly expressed a willingness to forgive the man.
The Decatur (Illinois) Herald & Review recently ran a one-year retrospective piece on the subject. Writer Sheila Smith contacted Dr. Lowery for his thoughts on the valuable role of forgiveness:
Bob Lowery, dean and professor at Lincoln Christian College and Seminary, said the Bible has 125 references and scriptures about forgiveness.
He said the two key ideas on forgiveness in the Bible are:
- Forgiveness views sin as something that needs to be eradicated and done away with.
- Forgiveness focuses on the disruptive relationships between people and God that need to be restored.
The Bible, Lowery pointed out, is full of powerful images about forgiving sin. Look at David, who asked God for forgiveness after committing adultery sin with Bathsheba. The cover of Time magazine showed a picture of Pope John Paul II in the jail cell with his would-be assassin offering forgiveness to the man. And just recently, Lee Malvo, one of the “DC Snipers” who went on a deadly shooting spree back in 2002, asked for forgiveness from the daughter of one of his victims.
“The ones who find it easier to forgive have a better understanding of God’s grace,” Lowery said.
NOTE: if the story drops off the site, do a search at the Decatur Herald & Review for “bob lowery amish.”
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