“Repentance & Forgiveness—A Spiritual Chain Reaction”

A chain reaction is described as “a self-sustaining chemical or nuclear reaction yielding energy or products that cause further reactions of the same kind.” A chain reaction keeps going and going and going. In the process, it gives off tremendous energy. A nuclear reaction may be the most known example….could be good (nuclear energy), or could be bad (nuclear bomb).  

The Lord “working things to the good”(Rom. 8:28) can lead to a type of “spiritual chain reaction”… a reaction that leads to better and better results. 

Take the following example which I think we can all relate to. If I have hurt you, causing real harm, we’ve got a problem. Obviously I have a problem for causing the harm… and if it’s a sin and I don’t repent, it will lead to my body wasting away with groaning all the day, and ultimately death. (Ps. 32:3; Rom. 6:23) It’s true; we all know that unrepentant sin causes an unrelenting “stomach ache or soul ache”. Even if I didn’t mean the hurt and it’s not a sin, I need to express my sorrow and find a way to repair the damage. On the other side, if the “hurt party” refuses to forgive me, they have a problem that results in “hardness of heart”, and more importantly they put their own salvation in question. (remember the Our Father…’forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others’) When on one hand we refuse to repent of our wrongdoing or on the other hand we refuse to forgive, we are all in trouble. Okay, are we still together on this …. everybody with me… keep your head in the game…pay attention.

The flip side of the above disaster can lead to a wonderful spiritual chain reaction.  Here’s how it works. When I repent of my wrongful deed (maybe sin, perhaps just a bad mistake), the power of the Holy Spirit goes out and helps the other party to forgive. When I truly confess my sin and seek to make it right, there is power going out that helps the hurt party to forgive. There’s power in heartfelt repentance. On the other hand, when the “hurt party” offers forgiveness, power goes out…. it’s a Godly response empowered by the Holy Spirit and its graciousness can cause the other party to repent even more deeply…and this deeper repentance can cause a deeper forgiveness by the hurt party…. a chain reaction of “repentance & forgiveness” can happen. This magnificent reaction can even affect others who hear about it.

I’m still touched by a story from 2006 when a deranged man went into an Amish School House and shot 10 young girls( 5 died) and then killed himself. “On the day of the killings, members of the Nickel Mines (Amish) community took food to the killer’s widow. Six days after the shooting, families who had just buried their daughters attended his funeral. Money from funds that poured in from around the world was diverted to the killer’s family, even though many victims faced huge medical bills. Aaron Esh Sr said the bereaved parents started to look at forgiveness as “the one good thing that can come out of this tragedy”. (ref. Guardian US, Oct.2, 2016) In the midst of their anguish, the Amish community immediately forgave the murderer and befriended his family… it affected people around the world. Forgiveness and repentance are powerful and can be a spiritual chain reaction. It doesn’t always happen, but I believe it could…. never easy, but possible.

So, if you’re struggling to “ask forgiveness or struggling to forgive” take the first step. It may be what’s needed to begin this powerful chain reaction that can affect not only yourselves but people far and wide. And that would be very good news.