Investing in Heaven

In 2015, a white man with white-supremacy beliefs, sat through a Bible Study at the historically black African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. One hour after he entered, he opened fire, killing nine people including the pastor. Two days later at the bond hearing, the families were allowed to speak. Many of them offered forgiveness and love instead of bitterness and hatred.

I think about that story a lot. Mostly when I am tempted to hold a grudge. How does forgiveness relate to investing in heaven? I’m glad you asked. So here is my example. There was a time in my life, when I couldn’t forgive some of my fellow believers. I stewed about it having internal conversations about how they were wrong and appalled at how they could have treated me like that. I had been a member of that church longer than any of them, plus I’d held leadership positions and mentored young women. I woke up each morning rehearsing what I would say to them and how I could prove them wrong.

The bitterness ate away at my heart and left me incapable of ministry.
The unforgiveness and bitterness I held was a joy stealer. One day, I repented. For my part. That was all I could do. I called the offending people and asked for forgiveness. The conversations opened up more conversations and helped in the healing. For all.

A big weight was lifted off my chest. It’s not that I lived in joyful bliss after my apologies. In fact, several times those same stinky thoughts would creep in, but I fought against them and anchored my heart in forgiveness.
Once I did that, my heart experienced freedom and I was able to invest in others again. I also regained my joy.

Jesus talked a lot about forgiveness. In the book of Matthew chapter 18, Peter—thinking he was generous—asks Jesus if he should forgive someone seven times. Here is how Jesus responded.
“Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.’”

Mind blown.

Jesus followed his statement with a parable known as The Unforgiving Servant. Here it is from the New International Version,
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all
that he had be sold to repay the debt.

“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything. ’The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.

When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay
back all he owed.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” That is what Christ did for us. And when I think of how He has forgiven me and continues to forgive me, I am awed and humbled. He never sinned but took my sin on himself. He even
forgave his tormentors. It is definitely food for thought. And freeing.

A few suggestions of how to practice forgiveness:

1. Can you think of anyone you are harboring a grudge against? Write it down. Take 100% responsibility for what you may have done wrong and cross their name off of the list.
2. If you need to ask someone’s forgiveness, ask them if you could meet with them and ask for forgiveness for your part. They may not forgive you, but you have done all that you could.
3. Meditate on the people of the church in SC, and on what Jesus said. And be humbled and grateful.