God held back his revenge as Jesus died on the cross, and through that death many in the world now believe in him. Revenge is easy, but catastrophic. Forgiveness, is tough, but works
ROBERT CLEMENTS | Caravan Daily
[dropcap]S[/dropcap]uddenly the whole world has become an unforgiving place. Revenge has become the password of not just individuals but of nations! Trump, a coarse, vulgar businessman is capitalizing on this idea of hitting back and soon America is going to produce another tyrant, who will ride on the anger of his people and maybe get elected! With his election will come about just what the terrorist wants; war between religious factions, fighting between neighbors and even friends.
Many thousands of years ago, on Good Friday, an innocent man had been nailed to the cross. He had been thrashed. His sides pierced by sharp spears. His head disfigured by pointed thorns and huge nails driven through his hands and feet.
As he hung on the cross, outside the city walls of Jerusalem, there were many in the crowd, who expected God to unleash his fury. There were many who felt God would strike back in vengeance.
How easy it would have been for God to do so. How easy to send a lightning bolt to kill all the soldiers. An earthquake to swallow all the people. How easy it would have been for an army of angels to annihilate the jeering crowd, who were mocking Jesus, dying on the cross.
But God didn’t.
He didn’t, because the innocent man on the cross, cried out to his God saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!”
What he was saying, was, those cruel soldiers, that jeering crowd, those murderous individuals, were doing so, because they had no idea why they were doing so. That if one could understand that this, one could then forgive them.
It must have been deep insight for a man who was dying to realize the people who were killing him, were doing so, pushed by purposes and ignited by motivations they were victims of.
How like today’s situation: Suicide bombers, terrorists, whose minds have been twisted by wrong thoughts and ideology. It is not revenge that is required today, but efforts to change the mind sets of these people. They have been brainwashed into believing that killing innocent people is God’s will, they need to understand that it is not so. Trying to go after them with Trump’s methods will only bring about a gigantic conflict in the world.
God held back his revenge as Jesus died on the cross, and through that death many in the world now believe in him. Revenge is easy, but catastrophic. Forgiveness, is tough, but works. And to forgive, one has to understand the reason behind those cruel acts, like that man on the cross did, many Good Friday’s ago!
