{"id":27286,"date":"2016-09-13T00:10:53","date_gmt":"2016-09-13T05:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/?p=27286"},"modified":"2025-07-25T13:58:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T18:58:16","slug":"forgiveness-seems-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/forgiveness-seems-hard\/","title":{"rendered":"When Forgiveness Seems too Hard"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

He shifted from one Converse clad foot to the other and waited patiently for the other students to clear out from the classroom.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I stood at my desk shuffling papers when I noticed that he remained.
\n\u201cHi James. What\u2019s up?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Lia, I just wanted to tell you that the testimony you read about Josh McDowell\u2019s life made a big impact on me.\u201d He spoke, softly.<\/p>\n

I sat down in my swivel chair to listen.
\n\u201cMy dad left home a long time ago and he struggles with addictions too,” he explained. “But I want you to know that Mr. McDowell\u2019s example of forgiving his father showed me that I needed to forgive my dad too. I reached out to him and we have started over again.\u201d<\/p>\n

My heart swelled.<\/p>\n

As a high school English literature teacher, my goal reached far beyond explaining the motives of classic authors or the rigors of rhetorical strategy. I read Josh McDowell\u2019s mind-blowing testimony to my students with the hope that his incredible ability to demonstrate love and forgiveness to the unlovely and unforgiving would inspire my students.<\/p>\n

And apparently it had. Rightly so. I thanked James for confiding in me and I praised God for His relentless capacity for reconciling fragmented people. And James? Well, his father would die suddenly and unexpectedly not long after they had repaired their relationship.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t too late for them to find hope when all seemed lost.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Forgiveness doesn\u2019t merely heal the people directly involved in a conflict. It is a salve for those who stand in the wings waiting for the courage to do the same. I want to share Josh McDowell\u2019s story of how he turned from passionate atheism and a goal to murder his own father and abuser, to becoming a radical Christ-follower. You can hear it from his own mouth:<\/p>\n

If you need healing, this is for you.<\/em>
\nIf you are doubting, this is for you.<\/em>
\nIf you have someone to forgive, this is for you.<\/em>
\nIf you need courage, this is for you.<\/em>
\nIf you grew up with an alcoholic, or are one yourself, this is for you.<\/em>
\nIf you have been abused, this is for you.<\/em>
\nIf you are angry with God, this is for you.<\/em>
\nIf you are in a season of peace and gratitude, this is for you.<\/em>
\nIf you are overflowing with joy in the Lord, this is for you.<\/em>
\nIt\u2019s a timeless message that I hope you will set aside the time to watch.<\/em><\/p>\n

And may you, like James, take it to heart.<\/strong><\/p>\n

~Amber<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He shifted from one Converse clad foot to the other and waited patiently for the other students to clear out from the classroom. I stood at my desk shuffling papers when I noticed that he remained. \u201cHi James. What\u2019s up?\u201d I asked. \u201cMrs. Lia, I just wanted to tell you that the testimony you read […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23327,"featured_media":27262,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"1189","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1189],"tags":[351,159,188,279,280],"translator":[],"blog-author":[78],"class_list":["post-27286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-god-on-the-move","tag-forgiveness","tag-help","tag-josh-mcdowell","tag-stories","tag-undaunted","blog-author-josh-mcdowell-ministry-team"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/607\/2016\/06\/iStock_12266899_MEDIUM.jpg","meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23327"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27286"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92545,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27286\/revisions\/92545"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27286"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/translator?post=27286"},{"taxonomy":"blog-author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-author?post=27286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}