August 20 “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 On January 23, 1999, 58-year-old Australian Baptist missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burned to death when the vehicle they were sleeping in was doused with gasoline and set on fire, allegedly by members of a Hindu fundamentalist group, in the Indian state of Orissa. Graham Staines had been working with leprosy patients for thirty-four years. Hundreds of millions witnessed Gladys Staines, Graham Staines’ widow, forgive her family’s murderers in the name of the gospel on Indian television—a scene which moved many to tears “and may have achieved more for the gospel in India than many years of missionary work,” according to an Indian evangelist. Describing her prompt forgiveness of the killers as a “spontaneous act,” Gladys Staines says, “it took away the bitterness” that otherwise would have remained in her heart. Since the incident she has people coming to her door asking how they can become Christians. The imagery she used was also powerful. “Let us burn hatred…and spread the flame of Christ’s love.” PRAYER: Lord, may I be like You and through the power of Your Holy Spirit forgive completely those who bring offenses against me.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 19:09:43 +0000
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