Craig Clouston

Sowing Forgiveness

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger…Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 4:31, 32

Life on a dairy farm is demanding; two or three milking shifts per day, crop production, and machine maintenance tie farmers to the homestead. Mark had left the farm as soon as he’d turned eighteen…but not because of the hard work.

“I got up each day wondering where Dad was gonna hit me. All I thought about was ending the beatings once and for all, but…” his voiced trailed off. Eventually he continued, “Over the years God replaced the anger with a desire to share the gospel with my parents. Finally, it got to the point that their salvation was all I could think about! So one night after church I took them a Bible...” the tears came again. “Dad said, ‘Is that some magazine or somethin’?’ I told him, ‘No! It’s a book about your salvation, and you can either read it and follow its teaching and have eternal life with Jesus, or you can spend eternity in hell!’ I surprised myself speaking that way to Dad,” he said candidly. “I talked about Jesus’ love for them for more than two hours…I shared things I didn’t even know I knew!” His voice carried a note of sadness as he said, “Dad cried a little…but that’s as far as it went with him.” But joy replaced the sorrow as he said, “Mom accepted Jesus into her heart, and I baptized her two days later! I guess I’ll just have to keep praying for Dad.”

†

Too many people identify with Mark’s story. Child abuse steals the soul; it’s not easily forgiven, and next to impossible to forget. In Mark’s case it took twenty years for the anger to abate, allowing the Holy Spirit to move in such a way that Mark became more concerned about his father’s salvation than the memory of his beatings.

In many cases it takes years, but God can heal all wounds. As with the crops on a dairy farm, forgiveness must be sown to produce a harvest. But once sown, Jesus will faithfully help us tend the crop.

Prayer

“Father, today it’s difficult to forgive. Help me continue to walk in forgiveness each day until it becomes complete in my heart. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”