Colossians 3:13 & 15a “Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you… Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking…”
Early childhood memories recall the years my father, a white minister of the Gospel, worked with Marshall Keeble, an elderly black minister of the Gospel. This was an unorthodox partnership due to the time frame being the turbulent 60’s, a decade of segregation even in the church.
Escorting Pop (as dad called Marshall Keeble) to and from his speaking engagements and finding accommodations always presented complications. Dad would drive late into the night, park far from the motel office, leave Pop in the car, and go alone to secure a room for the night. Then, he and Pop would be able to slip into the “white only” motel unnoticed. Most of these trips were uneventful- until one time, it wasn’t.
In the middle of the night, a loud knock at the door awakened them. They had been spotted entering the motel and were being evicted. As my father argued his case with the young white manager, Pop quietly dressed and was tying his shoes when he spoke up. “It’s ok son. The good Lord brought us this far. The good Lord will take us safely on down the road.”
Dad and Marshall Keeble left in the darkness of night toward their destination. In indignation, my father drove miles in silence. It was Pop who spoke first. “Son, you know you need to forgive him, right?”
Of all the emotions available to mankind, forgiveness was not on my father’s radar at that moment.
Anger? Yes.
Humiliation? Absolutely.
A desire for retaliation? Most likely!
But forgiveness, he admitted, had not yet found its way into his heart.
Years after Pop’s death, my father cherished Pop’s priceless display of forgiveness. Dad lived to realize Brother Keeble had extended forgiveness while tying his shoes that dreadful night. My father had not. Brother Keeble continued that journey with no ill-will. My father could not. Brother Keeble found peace in forgiveness. My father found none – until he forgave.
Forgiveness is a sweet, common theme found woven throughout scripture. Consider the parable of The Prodigal Son. (Luke 15: 11-32) No amount of hurt, anger, or rejection could deter the forgiveness extended by a loving father. Great rejoicing erupted upon the son’s return and the father’s heart was certainly filled with a peace that had evaded him for so very long. It was the older brother who found no peace in the festivities, harboring anger and hostility in the same way my father did long ago.
Fast forward many years and, amazingly, the final chapter of this story was written decades after Marshal Keeble’s and dad’s death. A minister traveled to Nashville in search of my father and located my sister instead. He brought an offer of forgiveness from an elderly man in a Texas nursing home. This man, many years prior, managed a motel where, due to racial prejudice, he had evicted Marshall Keeble and dad. For years, this man had anguished and longed for peace from his offense. In his last days, he prevailed upon this minister to settle his final earthly request and seek forgiveness from my father. My sister eagerly extended grace on dad’s behalf and the minister returned to Texas to deliver the peace that only forgiveness can offer.
How can we, too, find such peace? “If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them.”
Blessings,
Rita Cochrane