Chaplains’ Chat

In 2020 Danny and Leila Abdallah tragically lost three of their children in a horror car crash, with the driver at fault. The depth of their grief was seen in the proceeding weeks and months. And yet, amazingly after this event, they both publicly declared their forgiveness of the person responsible. This, in itself, is remarkable, and it has led to the i4give day, which is held on 1 February of each year.

Forgiveness itself is such a powerful and yet sometimes difficult action to enact. We have all been on the receiving end of someone’s actions and perhaps felt that forgiveness is just too difficult to give. And yet forgiveness is also crucial to relationships. For any relationship to grow and develop there must be a desire to forgive the mistakes of the other. We will all be on the receiving end of others mistakes and we will also be people that need the forgiveness of others when we make mistakes.

As we continue to look at David’s life in Chapel this Term, we see that even after what he has done to Bathsheba and her husband Uriah, there is forgiveness with God. Indeed, the Bible says that there is always forgiveness with God when we seek it. In turn, we are to strive to forgive others when wrong is done to us. As Ephesians 4:32 says: be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.

Rev Anthony Benn
Chaplain