In January, 1999, Graham Staines was an Australian missionary who spent more than 30 years in India caring for people suffering from leprosy-those whom society had cast away. He lived among them, washed their wounds, fed them, and preached Christ to the forgotten.

In early 1999, Staines attended a small Christian conference in the state of Odisha, India. That night he and his two young sons, Philip, who was 10, and Timothy, who was six, slept inside their station wagon. Then, suddenly, a mob of religious extremists surrounded the vehicle, locking the doors from the outside, and setting the car on fire.

Witnesses said the boys cried out as flames engulfed the vehicle. Graham tried to shield his children, but the fire consumed them all. By morning, only their burned bodies remained locked together.

This is horrific, but the most astonishing part of the story came afterward. His widow, Gladys Staines, instead of rebuking the killers with hate, publicly forgave the killers and continued serving the same leprosy community where her husband had died.

How does a person forgive an act like this?  Is it humanly possible?  Yes, it is possible, but not without the power of a Savior who gives us the power to forgive.

There’s another incident where forgiveness was miraculously given. Jim Elliot was an American missionary who went to Ecuador in the 1950’s to translate the Bible to native language. Elliot and his friends were approached one time by a small group of Huaorani villagers. They made plans to visit the Huaorani, but their plans were preempted by the arrival of a group of about 10 Huaorani warriors, who killed Elliot and his four companions on January 8, 1956. The bodies of the men were found downstream of the camp.  Then the unimaginable happened. 

After his death, Jim’s wife, Elisabeth Elliot, and other missionaries went back to the very tribe that had killed her husband and began working among the Huaorani, where they continued evangelistic work. She and her missionary friends were able to accomplish what Jim had set out to do – translating the Bible into their native language. She lived with them for many years.

How does this happen is the big question. How do you forgive what in human terms is unforgivable? The only answer is Jesus Christ.

Acts 2:38 – “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

Tagged: forgiveness, missionaries