It sounds easy to say we will always
forgive others but what happens in your heart when your own son is brutally
murdered. How can God make good come from that terrible event?
For answers, we go (in two parts) to
the southern Philippines where a decade ago Severino (Junie) Bagtasos, a young
pastor, was sitting in the front row of his church in Alat listening to his
sister conclude her Sunday message about heaven. Suddenly a man barged into the
chapel. Two loud bangs were heard. Before anyone could make sense of what
happened, Severino lay lifeless in a pool of blood. The killer made his escape
as the distraught church members gathered around their pastor, killed instantly
by gunshots to his chest and cheek.
His mother, Purificacion, says, “I
miss my son. Junie was the most caring of all my children. He would always
offer help when I was cooking. He would often ask me and his father advice
whenever he was beset with difficulties in the ministry because his church
members were older than him. I was blessed by Junie’s sincerity and
faithfulness in the ministry. Nothing could hinder him from going to his Bible
studies. Heavy downpours and floods could not keep him from bringing the Word
of God to those who needed to hear it. Death threats did not stop him.”
There is not even a hint of
bitterness as Purificacion speaks of that painful time. “During one of the
services held in the wake of my son, my husband told the congregation, ‘We
forgive the person who killed our son. If that person is here, I want you to
know that we forgive you. If he is not here, and if anyone of you knows him,
please tell him that we forgive him. The God we serve is the God of love and we
want to show that love to you.’”
But there were those who didn’t share
these convictions. She adds, “Some of my husband’s relatives who were also
Muslims got angry at him for saying this. They were eager to avenge Junie’s
death. It’s part of their culture. But my husband restrained them and told them
that our God is a God who also forgives. We chose to forgive our son’s
murderer.”
Purificacion shares what she thinks
now were one of God’s reasons for her losing Junie. “After my son’s death, many
Christians whose faith had grown cold were ushered back to the Lord.” Now after
a decade has passed, she continues to see God’s hand in it all. She adds, “I
believe Junie’s death was part of God’s plan. It was His way of opening the
doors that have long been shut. You see, before the death of my son,
Chinese-Tausug believers were scattered all over Jolo [their island in the southern
Philippines. Many of them stopped attending worship services.
When my son began the work in Alat a
predominantly Muslim town, little by little these believers started to gather
again. Junie, their pastor, loved them dearly and was truly passionate about
the ministry. One by one they started coming to church again. Before long,
these believers were on fire once more and got involved in the work of God.”
God’s refining at work!
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