Forgiven
A letter written to a man on death row by the
Father of the man whom the man on death row had killed:
You are probably surprised that I, of all
people, am writing a letter to you, but I ask you to read it in its entirety and
consider its request seriously.
As the Father of the man whom you took part in murdering, I have something
very important to say to you.
I forgive you. With all my heart, I forgive you. I realize it may be hard
for you to believe,
but I really do.
At your trial, when you confessed to your part in the events that cost my
Son his life and asked for my forgiveness, I immediately granted you that
forgiving love from my heart.
I can only hope you believe me and will accept my forgiveness.
But this is not all I have to say to you. I want to make you an offer -- I
want you to become my adopted child.
You see, my Son who died was my only child, and I now want to share my
life with you and leave my riches to you. This may not make sense to you or
anyone else, but I believe you are worth the offer.
I have arranged matters so that if you will receive my offer of
forgiveness, not only will you be pardoned for your crime, but you also will be
set free from your imprisonment, and your sentence of death will be dismissed.
At that point, you will become my adopted child and heir to all my riches.
I realize this is a risky offer for me to make to you-- you might be
tempted to reject my offer completely -- but I make it to you without
reservation. Also, I realize it may seem foolish to make such an offer to one
who cost my Son his life, but I now have a great love and an unchangeable
forgiveness in my heart for you.
Finally, you may be concerned that once you accept my offer you may do
something to cause you to be denied your rights as an heir to my wealth. Nothing
could be further from the truth. If I can forgive you for your part in my Son's
death, I can forgive you for anything.
I know you never will be perfect, but you do not have to be perfect to
receive my offer.
Besides, I believe that once you have accepted my offer and begin to
experience the riches that will come to you from me, that your primary (though
not always) response will be gratitude and loyalty. Some would call me foolish
for my offer to you, but I wish for you to call me your Father.
Sincerely,
The Father of Jesus
Have a blessed
day!
|