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Key Bible Verse: Do not say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me; I'll pay that man back for what he did" (Proverbs 24:29). Bonus Reading: 1 John 4:7-8,19-21

In 1987 an IRA bomb went off in a town west of Belfast. Eleven died; 63 were wounded. Gordon Wilson, a cloth merchant and devout Methodist, was buried with his 20-year-old daughter under five feet of concrete and brick. "Daddy, I love you very much," were Marie's last words, grasping her father's hand.

From his hospital bed, Wilson said, "I've lost my daughter, but I bear no grudge. Bitter talk is not going to bring Marie back. I shall pray every night that God will forgive them."

Once recovered, Wilson crusaded for reconciliation. Protestant extremists who had planned to avenge the bombing decided, because of the publicity surrounding Wilson, that such behavior would be politically foolish. Wilson wrote a book about his daughter and spoke out against violence, constantly repeating, "Love is the bottom line." He met with the IRA, personally forgave them, and asked them to lay down their arms. "You've lost loved ones, just like me," he told them. "Surely, enough blood has been spilled."

When he died in 1995, all Ireland and Britain honored this ordinary citizen for his uncommon forgiveness.

—Philip Yancey in What's So Amazing About Grace?

• When you interact with others, what's the bottom line that motivates your behavior?

Thought to Apply: Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.

—C. S. LEWIS (BRITISH SCHOLAR AND WRITER)

Credits: Adapted from—Tuesday: What's So Amazing About Grace? (Zondervan, 1997)

Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or e-mail mail@menofintegrity.net.
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