The power of GOD's word
Liuba was a young Russian woman serving a life sentence for murder. Suffering from HIV, she felt that her life had lost all meaning. At the height of her despair, she was preparing to commit suicide when it occurred to her to make one last appeal to heaven. She had been given a Bible and said to GOD: ‘If you still love me after all I've done, answer me!’
Liuba opened the Bible: ‘I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners’ (Matthew 9:13) said the first text, striking Liuba like lightning. ‘Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow’ (Isaiah 1:18), confirmed the second. The third text spoke of the criminal crucified next to Jesus: ‘We are here justly, for we are receiving what our deeds deserve, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ And he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus said to him, 'Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:41-43).
Overwhelmed by the word of GOD, moved by His Love, Liuba converted that day. She became a witness to CHRIST within her prison walls. Under her influence, this grim place gradually transformed: the wild shouting ceased, and there were no more fights between criminals. Sometimes the prisoners even sang hymns.
The power of forgiveness: ‘If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you’ (Matthew 6:14-15); But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be sons of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:44-45).
When she became too ill to remain in prison, Liuba was taken to hospital. I was able to visit her and share a beautiful moment of Christian fellowship with her. We read a passage from the Gospel together. She was very weak.
‒ This is probably the end of my life,’ she said to me.
‒ If that were the case, what would you want to say to GOD?’
‒ I would like to forgive my mother who abandoned me, my father whom I never knew, my sister who stole everything from me and rejected me, the man I killed because he wanted to murder me after raping me, all the men who cheated on me, those who took my child away from me...
And the long litany of pain and forgiveness continued, like the confession of a world of misery and horror... It became clear to me that it was not so much the “criminal” who needed forgiveness – GOD had forgiven her – but many others... and it was she who found the strength to forgive, in a beautiful act of love towards all those who had hurt her.
A few days later, some Christian women went to visit Liuba, but the Lord Jesus had taken her to heaven. They met with the head doctor, who told them, ‘I have never seen a patient like Liuba: she radiated kindness.’
Pierre D (Source: La Bonne Semence, 2014)