SHE THOUGHT EVERYTHING WAS FINE…

Someone I know once told me the true story of a woman close to him who had a near death experience. For the sake of her privacy, I will conceal the identifying details. I also share this carefully, not as Scripture or as something upon which doctrine should be built, but as a testimony that confronts us with truths already clearly revealed in the Word of God.

She was returning from church with two people she knew when they were involved in a terrible accident. Her two companions died, and she also appeared to have died.

She said she suddenly became conscious while her body was still lying near the wreckage. Yet the reality into which she awakened felt more real than the world we constantly live in. According to her, this present life felt almost like a dream compared with the reality she had entered.

She looked at herself and noticed that she was wearing a white garment.

Then she saw a terrifying being standing at a distance with a dark presence. As she stood there, she suddenly noticed something else. There was a stain on her white garment.

She was bewildered. Where had it come from? What did it mean?

Then she felt a supernatural force pulling her toward the being. She could not free herself. But suddenly, what she described as an angel came from heaven carrying a sword, struck the being, and declared that God had given her another chance.

She was later shown what the stain represented.

It was unforgiveness.

Not murder. Not adultery. Not some publicly scandalous sin.

Unforgiveness.

Hidden resentment. Preserved offences. Silent malice toward people who had hurt her, people she was not even consciously thinking about at that moment. She had given her life to Christ. She went to church. Yet somewhere within her heart, she had held on to what others had done to her.

She eventually woke up in the hospital in a critical condition. The doctors said that her survival was miraculous. Her two companions, however, did not return.

Again, our faith does not rest upon near death experiences. Experiences must be tested by Scripture, never the other way around. But what makes this account so sobering is that the warning it carries is already written plainly in the Bible.

Jesus said, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14 to 15).

These are not light words.

Perhaps someone genuinely wounded you. Perhaps what they did was wicked and completely undeserved. Forgiveness does not mean pretending that evil was acceptable. It does not mean denying your pain, abandoning wise boundaries, or preventing justice from taking its proper course. It means surrendering personal vengeance to God and refusing to preserve hatred within your heart.

Forgiveness is not always a single emotional moment. Sometimes it is a decision we must return to repeatedly as God heals the wound. But we cannot knowingly nourish hatred, resentment, or revenge and behave as though our relationship with God is unaffected.

How can we cling to the mercy of God with one hand while gripping another person’s offence with the other?

God did not spare His own Son but gave Him for us. In Jesus Christ, God came near to guilty people. Christ bore our sin, suffered in our place, and made forgiveness available to people who could never earn it.

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

We do not forgive others in order to purchase salvation. Salvation is the gift of God, received through faith in Christ and not earned by our works (Ephesians 2:8 to 9). If you do not know Christ, even if you forgive people you are still in danger, because forgiveness of sins rest on Christ alone. And if you already know him, we must also realize that a heart that has truly encountered the mercy of God must not casually make peace with unforgiveness. The forgiveness we have received should begin to transform the way we respond to those who have sinned against us.

Brethren, eternity is too serious for us to play games with God.

It is possible to appear religious outwardly but still be on the road to hell without Christ. Yet also, It is also possible to be a christian and to look fine outwardly while preserving things inwardly that grieve Him. It is possible to sing, pray, preach, serve, and still refuse to release an offence. We must allow God to search us.

Is there someone whose name still awakens bitterness within you? Is there an offence you have buried but never surrendered? Is there something in your private heart that contradicts the faith you publicly profess?

And if you do not yet know Christ, the truth is that forgiveness of sins is found only in Him. Christianity is not an invitation to become more religious or morally respectable. Sin has separated us from God, and we cannot erase our guilt by ourselves.

But Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again. In Him, forgiveness and reconciliation with God are freely offered. The Bible says, “He that believeth on him is not condemned. But he that believeth not is condemned already” (John 3:18).

That is a frightening truth, but it is not the end of the message. You do not have to remain under condemnation. Jesus said, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

You can come to Christ today.

Come honestly. Acknowledge your sin. Turn from it. Believe that Jesus died and rose again, and entrust yourself to Him, not just with your words, but with your life. Scripture says, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

If you already belong to Christ, ask Him to search you. Release those who have wounded you. Walk closely with God, not because you are trying to earn the sacrifice of Jesus, but because His sacrifice is too precious to be treated casually.

Eternity is real. Christ is merciful. And while you still have breath, you can come to Him.

Is there an offence you have learned to carry so quietly that you no longer call it unforgiveness?

Whose name still awakens resentment, anger, or the desire to see them suffer?

What would it mean to place that wound before God today without excusing what happened and without keeping vengeance for yourself?