My first book for the Christian market (my 31st published book) was The Forgiving Hour (1999). The lessons I’d learned about forgiveness—mostly the hard way—were poured into my characters in that story. I consider that novel, perhaps more than any other I’ve written, to be proof of Romans 8:28.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Those hard lessons, those hard things, that happened in my life were worked together for good in The Forgiving Hour. God put them to use. I know this because over the past 25 years He has allowed me to pray for heartbroken women, both in person and in response to the letters and emails they have sent to me.
Earlier this week I listened to a video sermon about forgiveness. The pastor said that much of the secular world views the Christian God as a supreme who is angry and vengeful, who is just waiting to smash people who trip up (my paraphrase). But the truth is, the God of the Bible is abounding in love. He is gracious and compassionate. He is slow to anger. He is longing to forgive. All we need do is turn to Him in repentance.
Even followers of Jesus don’t always grasp the extent of God’s forgiveness. We sometimes think our iniquity (a premeditated choice), transgressions (willful disobedience), and sin (anything that misses the mark) have taken us too far to be forgiven or for us to be of use again. We’re like the prodigal son, willing to be just a servant in our father’s house because surely he can’t forgive us for what we’ve done. But our Heavenly Father runs to us and welcomes us home.
We live in such a broken world. Christians don’t get a pass on that. We don’t have to look any further than our neighborhoods, our towns/cities, our countries. It’s a mess out there. It’s a mess in here. Others hurt us. We hurt others. God forgives us, and He calls us to forgive.
I love to see forgiveness at work, and I love to read about it too.
What’s your favorite novel that shows the beauty of forgiveness? Please share. I’d love to know.
~robin
Robin Lee Hatcher
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I think this was the first book I ever read of yours, Robin, and I’ve never forgotten it. I, too, love that our God is eager and longing to forgive when we come to him in humility and repentance. Forgiveness and the resulting redemption is a big theme in several of my books too, and I love reading books that remind me of God’s mercy and grace.
You write about it so beautifully too. Sometimes we need to just sit in His mercy and grace and let it permeate us.
Land of Silence by Tessa Afshar. The end of that book convicted me so much it made me cry. Forgiveness is a beautiful thing.
I loved that novel (very sad), and I thought it would make a great movie.
I’m so grateful the Lord’s forgiveness is so vast, and I know I fall so short of offering that same type of forgiveness to others. A more recent novel that epitomized this for me is These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant. A great picture of love and forgiveness in a general market book. (Kimi is a Christian.)
Thanks for the recommendation, D’Ann. I’m off to look for it.
I need to read your book, Robin. But Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is one that I have never forgotten how it touched and humbled me at God’s love for us, no matter our shortcomings.
Redeeming Love has changed the lives of countless readers, in many different languages. It was the book that started me on the path to writing Christian fiction, so it holds a special place in my heart. Not to mention that Francine is a dear friend who has so much love for Jesus.