Forgiveness. A trip to Heaven. 2003

Forgiveness

I stood in Heaven. A familiar looking young man, with brown hair and eyes, who appeared to be about 14 years old, stood before me. He appeared excited to see me and was jumpy like a child who was about to open his presents at Christmas.

He spoke to me, “My name is Timmy! Please tell my mother, my brother and sisters that I can hardly wait till were all together in heaven”.

I realized as he said this that I knew his mother, brother, and sisters, well. I knew his mother had an abortion when she was young and this was the aborted boy. I felt so privileged at that moment and just wanted to cry. He had no bitterness in him only love for his family. I knew that God had answered his prayer to be able to share this message with his mother. Timmy was a special boy who I immediately loved. He had a presence of a playful loving boy.

I began to cry at this point. The level of forgiveness in this boy was beyond anything I had ever seen before. He didn’t ask me why his mother ended his life and didn't give him a chance to survive. There was not an ounce of bitterness in him. I felt such incredible love in Timmy and I also felt such love for him. Here was a boy whose life was not taken by a stranger but his own parents and yet he still chose to forgive them. This was at a level that was difficult for me to comprehend. I know people who get bitter and angry because the neighbor parks their car in front of their house. They call the police because a dog craps on their lawn. They want to kill someone because they cut them off on the highway. Then there’s this young man, who was murdered by his own parents hand and only wanted to be with them one day, in heaven.

I went the next day to his mother about my meeting with Timmy. Her response was just tears.

Walking on the narrow road is being a place of constant repentance and humility before the Lord. Every day you must wash yourself clean. You can’t hold a single thing against any man no matter what they’ve done to you. You cannot even walk in the kingdom if you hold unforgiveness towards anyone.

It’s really the story of Cain and Abel all over again. It’s about two personalities, a forgiving one and an unforgiving one. My whole life I have come across this over and over again. The forgiving types are free and easy and let things roll off their back. They are what I call the pure hearted ones. They choose to forgive no matter what happens to them. The Lord delights in these. They are the ones that will be in the throne room, they are the ones that will clearly be in heaven.

And then we have the unforgiving ones. When they choose to not forgive they are coming against the very essence of who Jesus is and the gift He brought us. He said He could not forgive us if we could not forgive our brother. If we do not have His forgiveness, then we cannot enter in, it is not our place.

When I was young the Lord came to me in my room and said, “I want you to forgive your parents for what they did to you”.

I was stunned when He said this because I saw that they did nothing wrong. I could not think of anything in my mind. I knew the Lord could not lie so I knew something must be there. I acted in faith and said the words.

“I forgive my parents for what they did to me.”

Even so, I could not think of anything. My words were just mere words and hardly heartfelt. Immediately after reciting the prayer it was as if a door opened and I saw far into my past. I saw the rejection and how they treated me. I cried when I saw it and now the forgiveness seemed real. I acted in faith first and then God met me.

MT 18:23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 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.

MT 18:26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

MT 18:28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

MT 18:29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

MT 18:30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

MT 18:32 "Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

MT 18:35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."