Future Leaders International
“Allowing Reconciliation to Take Place”
by Alan Fischer
Last summer my wife, Carolee, and I were invited and led by God to launch our Future Leaders International ministry in the Baha peninsula of Mexico. I filled the Sunday morning pulpit in a slum outside of the city of Cabo San Lucas. The message was entitled "Forgiveness - God's Way", using the 2 verses right after the Lord's Prayer — Matthew 6:14-15, "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Since there is so much misunderstanding about forgiveness and reconciliation, I taught on what forgiveness is NOT.
During the message, which was interpreted in Spanish, a man in the second row consistently helped the interpreter to select the correct word when there was a mistake made. In the middle of the message, a woman got up from the back of the room and came up to where this helpful "interpreting man" was sitting. She bent down and gave him a big hug as tears ran down her face. She then went over to her daughter, who was leading singing (who happened to the associate pastor's wife, I learned later) and gave her a prolonged hug.
It turns out that this man and woman had lived many years in a bitter marriage and had been separated for 6 months. This was the first time this man had ever stayed for the message at this church. He would only stay long enough to watch his daughter lead the singing and then go home. As God would have it, he had stayed to help interpret and ended up receiving and giving forgiveness and allowing reconciliation to take place.
Matthew 6:14,15 is an often neglected principle in God's Word among His people and yet when obeyed, is a powerful principle to allow healing and restoration to take place. Great rejoicing took place that day as the power of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word was so evident. 28 people forgave their offender and 17 came forward to seek prayer for reconciliation and restoration plus the church witnessed their associate pastor's family being restored.