Elisabeth Elliot was made a widow and single mother on January 8, 1956 when her husband, Jim Elliot, and four of his missionary friends were speared to death by the Huaorani people of Ecuador while trying to reach them with the Gospel.  It would have been easy for Elisabeth to wash her hands of Ecaudor, pack her things and return to the safety of the United States. Her husband had been unfairly and violently stolen from her and their infant daughter, who was only 10 months old at the time, and yet she made a decision that is difficult for any but those whose hearts and minds have been shaped by the Gospel to comprehend. She decided to stay in Ecuador and personally continue her husband’s mission to the undeserving Huaoroni. Despite the risk, she and her young daughter, along with Rachel Saint (the sister of Nate Saint who was also speared to death along with Jim Elliot), went and lived among the Huaorani. Today, the Gospel has flourished within the tribe because these women came proclaiming life, peace and forgiveness to the murderers of their loved ones.  These women made Christ visible by their willingness to pour out their lives to save those who had wronged them. As Christopher Wright points out, “If we preach a gospel of reconciliation we need to show some evidence of what reconciliation looks like.”

This Sunday we will take up a very challenging portion of scripture, Colossians 3:13 – “…bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

This verse naturally raises two questions: Exactly how did Jesus forgive us? And, what does that mean for how we are to forgive others?