God and Forgiveness

​“I’m not sure about forgiveness and my relationship with myself. I have done many things in the past that I cannot forgive myself for,” a middle-aged man explained in English. The man, Mr. Tanaka [a fake name], participated in a lesson about forgiveness, based on the account of Peter’s denial and Jesus’ forgiveness, and then he returned a few days later with questions.  The thought of true forgiveness baffled him. The world operates through grudges and keeping track of offenses, even against ourselves, but we present the message of the Bible: restored relationships with God, others, creation, and self through the forgiveness found in Jesus.

The concept of a relational, forgiving God is difficult for Japanese people. When speaking with one woman, we hardly explained that God is the King and Creator who made the world before she looked puzzled and explained, “This is very difficult.” This difficulty originates from the animistic view of deity found in traditional beliefs. Kami, the Japanese gods, are temperamental beings in nature who are untrustworthy and require continual appeasement, which is different from the One True God. The woman could not understand the concept of the God of the Bible, which means there is no way she could understand about sin or Jesus.
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This dilemma of completely different foundations requires thought and planning to work through. Our goal in speaking with people is to discover their understanding and work on the next step in helping them intellectually understand the gospel. Once they understand who Jesus is and what He has done, they are ready to decide if they believe and trust, which is something only God can accomplish. Sometimes He uses a narrative of betrayal and forgiveness to prick a man’s heart and to develop a desire for understanding. We now pray and see if God makes the power of the gospel effective for Mr. Tanaka.