SHEILA WALSH — I’ll never forget my first solo tour of America as a young contemporary Christian artist. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of this country and staggered at its size! I was born in Scotland where you can drive the entire length of the country in one day, whereas you could fit all of Scotland into Texas alone — five times over!

I had my British band with me and the tour was a great success. It was hard for some of the guys who were married and had families at home to be away from them for almost six weeks, so I was excited to pay them at the end and send them home with bonus checks.

That’s when everything fell apart. I discovered on the last day of the tour that the tour promoter had left with all the money and paid no one. When I finally reached him by phone he told me that he was keeping the money and there was nothing I could do about it. He said that if I tried to sue him, he would file for bankruptcy and start up again under a new name. I was stunned by his callousness, particularly as he professed to be a Christian.

I flew home to London where I lived at that time and sold my house so that I could pay all those who had worked with me so hard and for so long. I was angry and hurt. Every time I tried to pray I could feel the waters of bitterness rise inside me. I knew I didn’t want to live like that. So I made a decision. Rather than drown in waves of unforgiveness, I determined to release the money to the Lord and let go. I thought this was the end of it. However, I would discover that I had much more to learn about the freedom that comes from true forgiveness.

A few years later I was in Estes Park Colorado for the annual Christian Artists Seminar. I was hurrying to a class that I was teaching when I looked up and saw this former tour promoter walking towards me. He saw me at the same moment I saw him and he turned and ran! What shocked me was the anger I felt rise to the surface again after all these years. I thought I’d let it all go.

I dropped to the ground on my knees and asked the Lord why I was still carrying so much bitterness when I thought I’d released it all to Him.

Immediately the Holy Spirit spoke deep in my heart.

“You brought me the offence but you never brought me the offender.”

There and then I lifted this man up to the throne of grace and asked God to move in his life. I had no idea what was going on inside his heart. Only God knew that. As I finished praying I felt something under my left knee cutting into my skin. I looked and it was a small pebble. I picked it up and, understanding the significance, put it into my pocket.

I carry it to this day everywhere I go. It is a small, round reminder of a large spiritual principle: “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” (John 8:7 NLT)

The bottom line is this: if there were no Calvary, there would be no forgiveness for any of us, and equally there would be no mandate to forgive. The cross of Christ changes everything. God isn’t trying to force us to forgive because He’s playing a game with us. Far from it. He wants us to be free. We live in a world that’s not fair. We see that every day. Things have happened to you that should never have happened, so what do you do? I believe that forgiveness is God’s gift to help us live in a world that’s not fair. Fair doesn’t live here but Jesus does! Forgiveness is an act of defiance against everything that makes sense to us — and a total act of obedience to the Kingdom of God.

Not only that, it will set you free!

“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” (Colossians 3:12-13 NLT)