Carl Simpson, a carpenter, wrote the following after he was robbed at gunpoint:
History will note it as one man standing in front of his house with his two infant daughters while another man holds a .45 automatic to his head and goes through his pockets for five dollars and change. The police record it as an armed robbery.
I remember it as an invasion – a violation of parts of my life, my psyche, where no one should ever be. Jesus calls it a forgiveness-needing act.
Jesus knows that 70 x 7 times I will remember that night and be filled with hatred; and Jesus knows that 70 x 7 times the fear of that moment will resurface; and Jesus knows that 70 x 7 times the craving for revenge will well up inside me; and Jesus knows that 70 x 7 times I will weep in the pain that is planted inside me; and Jesus knows that 70 x 7 times he will be whispering in my ear the words of forgiveness.
Which is to say: forgiving 70 x 7 times is not so much a command as it is a gift. A gift of healing. A gift because that gun, that man, that night is branded in my memory. And for as long as I have the hatred, the fear, the desire for revenge, and the grieving, I will also need and have the forgiving – Jesus’ forgiving and my forgiving. And that is what Jesus offers, 70 x 7 times.
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The Other Side, July 1983