The story of a man who learned to forgive and love his mother’s murderer became the topic of this week’s “Live to Forgive” convocation sponsored by Student-Led Ministries. Dean Smith a guest speaker from the Vine Christian Ministries in Seattle screened his biographical documentary “Live to Forgive” and answered students’ questions on Monday.
The documentary is the story of Smith’s journey of love and reconciliation. At the beginning of the film he says “There are some days in your life when you can remember every single detail of what happened.” For Smith Feb. 111989 was one of those days. He was 12 years old when his stepfather Bob beat his mother to death after an argument. Smith remembers how he was sincerely praying for the first time in his life while standing in one of the hospital rooms awaiting news of his mother’s condition. From that point anger and revenge towards Bob who received a 14-year sentence filled Smith’s thoughts. After the murder Dean and his sister became foster children of Rex Bell a pastor from one on the local churches in Washington. Being involved in different sports Smith utilized his basketball abilities to go to college on scholarship. Upon leaving the house Smith began using alcohol and drugs. However neither helped to heal the pain of the loss.
It wasn’t until 1996 that Smith decided to find his stepfather and talk with him over the phone. After a few years of speaking over the phone Smith went to Tennessee to visit Bob who had recently attempted suicide. By forgiving Bob he “added purpose to his mother’s death and stepped on the way to become a better person.” Smith founded his “Live to Forgive” ministry in 2007 which is “dedicated to the healing and redemption of hearts through the power of Jesus Christ according to the website. He invited Bob to one of the services, where Smith’s sister met and forgave him after 25 years.
My perception of forgiveness changed completely after watching the documentary one senior said. We can see the real power of forgiveness by watching how Bob is now on the path of surrendering his mistakes to God. When we forgive we can set people free. In my opinion the speaker was genuine engaging and positively influential. I am in awe of his honest heart to forgive those who have hurt him and am inspired by his courage and persistence.”
“Don’t expect other people to make a first step and say ‘sorry.’ Our forgiveness has nothing to do with other people Smith said. It is just our own burden of unforgiveness that we need to get rid of.”
The concept of anger as a burden is the main idea of Smith’s message. As he says “God is always there to help those who really want to change something. It’s truly amazing what He can do to your heart and your mind.” The film ends with Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive others their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you but if you do not forgive others their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”