LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 79

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CONVENTION BIBLE STUDIES

“Gene, how would you like to teach children in our Sunday
School?”
“Who, me? I haven’t done that before .”
“We’ll teach you . We have lesson plans and our teachers meet together to prepare . All we need is for you to be
available .”
Gene tentatively answered, “Okay, I’ll give it a try .”
Soon Gene found himself in front of small children, telling
them the stories about Jesus . But Gene soon became uncomfortable with his teaching . He knew he was a hypocrite . How
could he teach about Jesus who healed and forgave people,
when all the time Gene hated a father he never met? Moreover,
Gene resented God for what he had suffered in life and he had
trouble loving a heavenly father when he had no loving earthly
father . So he decided to quit teaching .
But before he was done, he had one more lesson to teach:
the Passion of Christ . And as he prepared the lesson, he read
Jesus’ words from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they
do not know what they are doing .” Gene cried out to God, “I
can’t forgive him . I don’t want to forgive him . I hate him!
God, help me!”
God answered Gene’s prayer, the plea of a beggar . Gene
had nothing to offer God, but God had everything to offer
him . Gene realized that day that Jesus’ prayer was for him,
and that God could even forgive his bitterness and unforgiveness . Remembering how much God had forgiven him, Gene
forgave a father he never met . He experienced a peace that
passed all understanding .
Several years later, Gene’s mother came to him and said,
“I have something to tell you . I want you to know who your
father is . He came to see me last night . He’s dying from cancer . Here’s his name and number .”
Imagine how Gene must have felt! After all these years, he
was given the opportunity to meet the man who abandoned
him and his mother . Had he really forgiven him? What would
he say? Gene took a few days to collect his thoughts and then
picked up the phone .
But his father had left town for treatment, and he died
before returning home . Gene never got to meet his father, but
he learned that the man had married another woman and had
three children .
My father died in 1989 of cancer . And that’s when I learned
I have an older brother named Gene . My sister and younger
brother and I were in shock . How could our father not provide
for his eldest son and the mother that bore him? Our father
had been so good to us kids and to thousands of his employees over the years . How could our father not tell us? But then
we realized that all our extended family knew about the family secret: aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents . We felt
betrayed by everyone we were related to .
After the shock wore off, Gene, my other brother and sister, and I went on a retreat with our families to get to know one
another . We heard Gene’s story and marveled at his attitude
toward us . “Gene, we weren’t rich, but we never experienced
the kind of life you did . We three kids all had the opportunity

79

to go to college, but you were unable . Why aren’t you jealous
of us? Why don’t you hate us?”
“If I would have met you several years ago, I would have,”
Gene said . “But Jesus healed my angry heart . Let me tell you
about what I learned teaching Sunday School .” And he shared
his story with us .
Gene was able to forgive as Christ had forgiven him . Not
on his own determination, but because he remembered that
God forgave him . Gene forgave without ever meeting his
father . My father never received that gift from his oldest son,
but I have received that gift from my older brother . I praise
God that he gave me a brother who is a living witness to a
forgiving God .
God is present when we struggle to forgive . He still promises to be with us, to forgive us for our own struggles with
unforgiveness, and to empower us to forgive others .
When struggling to forgive, we can lay that burden at the
foot of the cross and beg God for his forgiveness and help .
He gives us the power and strength to do that which we cannot do on our own (see again 2 Peter 1:3–4) .
How can we forgive? By fixing our eyes on Jesus, the
author and perfecter of our faith . With Paul we can boldly
claim, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”
(Philippians 4:13) .

A Gift Meant to Be Shared
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32) .
God never intended that His gift of forgiveness be for us
alone . He wants us to share it .
A couple desperately wanted to have children, but they
were unable to conceive . They endured extensive medical
exams and procedures . They prayed fervently to God, but it
seemed that He was deaf to their pleas .
After years of waiting, they lost hope and applied for
adoption . And that’s when the wife discovered that she was
pregnant . They praised God for answering their prayers .
However, the pregnancy was difficult, and the wife quit
her job to rest in bed for most of the term . She gave birth to
a baby girl, whom they named Kristy . They cherished their
daughter more than anything .
But Kristy5 was sick . The doctor told the parents that they
would need to leave their baby at the hospital, but he assured
them that she would be given medicine that would cure her .
Reluctantly, the parents left their daughter in the care of
the hospital . The nurse who attended her grabbed the wrong
medication out of the cabinet, administered it to the infant,
and Kristy died . Immediately the nurse realized what she had
done . She reported the incident to her floor supervisor, who
contacted the hospital administrator, and he sought counsel
from the hospital’s lawyer . The lawyer said, “Whatever you
do, don’t let that girl’s parents talk to that nurse .”
Imagine the grief of these parents! After all those years of
waiting, they were blessed to have a child . But then to have

2010 Convention Proceedings