As We Forgive

Documentary
2010 / 54 min.
RATING: 8/10

In Rwanda, in 1994, the unimaginable happened: approximately one million Tutsi Rwandans were killed by their friends, neighbors and fellow church members. As much as fifteen per cent of the population was murdered in just three months. The enormous scale of the evil left the government unable to offer any sort of justice. The jails couldn’t hold the tens of thousands of perpetrators, so the government eventually ended up pardoning most of them, sending them back to their villages, and homes, where they would live right beside the surviving victims.

Justice was impossible. But what about forgiveness? Is forgiveness possible when sins are this monstrous? How does a man who has killed a girl’s father dare go to her to ask forgiveness? And how could she ever find the strength to offer him that forgiveness?

As We Forgive has received all sorts of secular awards, but the story here is an explicitly Christian one. It is a film well worth watching twice, first putting ourselves in the place of the victims, and understanding how it is that God equipped them to forgive. If they can forgive, how much the more so us? And it is also worth watching from the perspective of the murderers. The two men we meet show what true repentance looks like. As one explains, he can never make up for what he has done, but he can try to show his repentance by doing all the good he can for his victims – he is building houses for the genocide survivors.

As you might expect of a documentary on such a grim chapter of history, there are some scenes – of the aftermath of the genocide – that are not suitable for children. But it really is a must-see. If you’ve ever said “I can’t forgive” then here is an example of what God can make us capable of, if we ask Him. Here, too, we see what real repentance involves. It is so much more than words. These men’s actions give evidence of the change that God has wrought in them.

The Heart of Texas

Documentary

60 min, 2009

Rating: 8/10

Online reviews this documentary are exasperatingly vague: "an astonishing true story of tragedy and forgiveness" "a beautiful story of how God wants us to... forgive even what seems to be unforgivable." But what is it about? Most reviewers seem determined to leave it a mystery, explaining that if you go in without knowing what to expect, the emotional impact will be all the greater.

However I am going to divulge what's at the heart of The Heart of Texas because, even though this is a wonderful film, I know some will find it too hard to watch.

It is about a family that lost their 4-year-old daughter to a hit and run driver. That is tragic and the nightmare of every parent. But what happens next is amazing. Grover Norwood, the little girl's father, forgives the man who killed his daughter. And he not only forgives him, he empathizes with this man, Ulice Parker, who had no idea he had hit a person. Grover Norwood is concerned about the guilt the man is feeling. So he invites Mr. Parker to the funeral and seats him in the front row, right next to himself and his wife. The forgiveness he shows is absolute, beautiful, and almost unbelievable. As the IMDB.com synopsis puts it: "one man chooses an extraordinary and far-reaching path of forgiveness that the world has never seen."

But is this forgiveness the like of which the world has never seen? No. As Grover Norwood makes clear, what he has done is only a reflection, a shadow of what God has done for us. And that is why this is such a powerful film – this is a man trying to be Christ-like in circumstances in which we might excuse him for displaying the worst sort of behavior towards Mr. Parker. Instead, even as he grieves the loss of his daughter, he reflects God's grace and mercy in reaching out to Mr. Parker.

This is a remarkable story, and a well-produced film. It is important to say again that this is a documentary – it is a true story, not some made for Hallmark script. It is also important to note that these are not Reformed Christians, and some of what is said has an Arminian underpinning to it. So some minimal discernment is needed to evaluate what is expressed here verbally. But you are not likely to see Christ-life forgiveness demonstrated better in action. What God enables Grover Norwood and his wife to do is stunning, awesome, and so very beautiful.