My son, John, recently introduced me to a wonderful biography about a man named Louis Zamperini.  He overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to lead a great life.  He started out on the wrong foot as a young boy, but his older brother helped get him on the right track and he went on to become a 1936 Olympic medal winner in track, almost breaking the four-minute mile (despite his competitors willfully injuring him during the course of the race).   When World War II broke out he became a gunner aboard a B-24 bomber.  His plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean during a routine flight, and he and the pilot survived over 45 days aboard a life raft before drifting within reach of the Marshal Islands (then controlled by the Japanese).  Before they could reach land they were picked up by the enemy and spent over two years in various POW camps suffering daily beatings, humiliating mental torture, starvation, and disease before being released, following Japan’s surrender.  After returning home, he continued to be plagued by the haunting images of his captors (one particularly abusive officer who was called “The Bird”).   Those memories filled his waking hours and followed him into sleep each night.  He sought relief through drinking and soon became an alcoholic.  He became obsessed with the idea that if he could only return to Japan, find “The Bird”, and repay him in kind by torturing then killing him, he would finally be able to free himself from the nightmares and flashbacks.  Through his drinking, depression, and growing rage, he nearly lost his family (his wife left temporarily with their daughter before eventually returning).  He never was able to free himself by taking revenge on “The Bird”; however Louis Zamperini did find the freedom he so desperately desired.  And it came unexpectedly in a place he never would have imagined.

His wife had started attending a nearby tent revival and had decided to serve the Lord.  She finally talked Louis into attending a service.  When it came time for the altar call, he grabbed her and they left .  The revival continued on for several more days and she kept trying to convince him to return with her.  However, he had already  reached a point where he doubted the very existence of God and had decided that if there even were a God he could not be a good, kind one because of all the atrocities he had allowed Louis and others to suffer during the war.  His wife persisted and even used a bit of trickery to finally get him to attend one of the final nights of the revival.  As the service progressed and the sermon came to a close, Louis was reminded of a particular time during his days on the raft, when he had concluded there surely was a God and at that moment had prayed, “Lord if you will save my life, I will live the rest of my life for you.”   A flood of emotions overcame Louis; anger toward God for all he had endured, guilt for not having followed through with the vow he had made, and an overwhelming sense of how awful his life had become through drinking and obsession with revenge. With his mind swirling and sweat breaking out on his forehead, he once again grabbed his wife’s arm and began ushering her toward the exit.  However as they reached the center aisle, he stopped.  With his mind racing a million miles an hour he paused briefly and then turned, not toward the exit but instead toward the altar.

He had concluded that the Lord had not “done” those things to him, but had actually been with him and “sustained” him through them all, every hardship throughout his life.  In that moment of repentance Louis Zamperini received forgiveness from Jesus Christ for his own sins, and in turn forgave “The Bird” and his other captors who had so abused and dehumanized him during his days as a POW.  His hatred fell away and was replaced with compassion.  He returned home that evening, the weight of the world no longer on his shoulders, poured all his liquor down the sink, and ripped up his cigarettes and threw them in the trash.  He was never again plagued with nightmares or flashbacks from the war.  He and his older brother went on to create social programs to provide guidance and encouragement to children who had started out on the wrong foot.   He became an accomplished public speaker, sharing the testimony of his life with groups both large and small.  Later on, after receiving word that “The Bird” was still alive and had been located, he asked to meet with his former captor face-to-face; however, “The Bird” refused.  Louis sent him a letter confirming his forgiveness for him and his hopes that he would also one day become a christian.  Louis continued to run well into his late eighties and early nineties, and was privileged to carry the Olympic torch along part of it’s route in the 2008 Olympics.  As of the date of this writing, he is still living and sharing his testimony with others.

As I read the book, I was struck by the power of forgiveness.  When we are unwilling to forgive, holding on to hatred, bitterness, offences, and possibly shame for our own failures; when we strive to make others “pay” for what they have done to us, we chain ourselves to them, we bind ourselves to the pain that was inflicted on us, and time stands still.  Whether days or decades ago, we remain in the moment(s), we relive it/them.  However, when we forgive others and ourselves (I believe a huge part of forgiving is realizing that we are all flawed, broken creatures before a loving God who is more than willing to forgive us) we are set free.  It is then and only then that we rise above the pain and hurt, out of the darkness and into the light of a new day … a day wide open, full of potential and promise.

Can you forgive today?  Will you forgive?  Don’t wait.  Do it today, right now.  Forgive others, forgive yourself, and receive Christ’s forgiveness.

GOD BLESS AND HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

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