MY ACCOUNT
If you were attacked for your beliefs, could you forgive your attacker?
What if you lost your spouse, your parent, or your eyesight? What if you were covered in burn scars from a fire set by a terrorist? Would the injustice haunt you, or would you be able to pray, as Jesus did in Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”?
For Christians experiencing persecution in Nigeria, forgiveness is surely not an easy choice. But many make it nonetheless. Their faith, gratitude, love, and wisdom derived from Scripture demand it of them.
These believers are following the example Jesus set when He was crucified.
As 1 Peter 2:20-23 says, “If you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.’ When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.”
Just as Jesus suffered for the message of the Gospel, the church in Nigeria has faced tremendous persecution. Still, these four believers follow in His steps and choose forgiveness.
Scripture Gives the Strength to Forgive
When Tabitha was held captive by Boko Haram, she never expected to survive.
Her husband had already been murdered by militants while working in his field. Once they occupied her village, escape seemed impossible.
But she saw her chance when the terrorists left to attack another village, fleeing with her children by night, aided by a Boko Haram fighter who showed her compassion.
"We were just running to wherever God leads us to," Tabitha says.
Left without a home to return to, Tabitha and her children found their way to a camp for displaced people, which is where she met Global Christian Relief’s (GCR) partners.
“They came and taught us about forgiving those who have harmed us,” she says.
She finds peace and strength from reading her Bible, especially Daniel 12, which says, “There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.”
“We are now able to read the Bible,” Tabitha says, reflecting on her recovery following her persecution. “We are now able to forgive our enemies.”
Love and Forgiveness Without Hesitation
In Luke 6:35, Jesus says, “Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”
Perhaps no one embodies this message more than Suzanne, a persecuted Christian who radiates joy despite her past.
Boko Haram ambushed Suzanne and her father. A militant shot them and left them for dead. Miraculously, Suzanne survived, but she lost her sight that day.
Nevertheless, Suzanne has chosen forgiveness over sorrow. She holds no grudge against the man who blinded her and killed her father.
“In ignorance he committed his actions,” Suzanne says, smiling. “Oh, God, forgive them.”
Suzanne insists that if she ever saw those men from Boko Haram again, she would welcome them, give them a place to sit, and offer them water.
“We’ll eat together and pray,” she says.
Gratitude to God, Forgiving Oppressors
Philemon and his sister Nancy were young when Boko Haram attacked their Nigerian village. They fled with their mother, but their father was murdered by the radical Islamists. As refugees in Cameroon, they met a man who forced their mother to marry him.
“He threatened my mother that if he will not marry her, he is going to kill her,” Nancy says.
But the man frequently became drunk and beat their mother, until she made the courageous choice to leave.
The family returned to Nigeria, where a judge declared the marriage invalid. But the abusive husband followed them there and took his revenge.
“The night of the day the judgment was passed, he came with petrol and gas and he poured it on the house we were in,” Nancy says. “After he set us on fire, whenever we try to run out, he'll push us back inside.”
Their mother and two siblings perished after the fire. Nancy and Philemon survived, but they were burned badly. Both still feel pain from their scars, yet both express gratitude to God for saving their lives.
“We are grateful to God for saving us,” Nancy says. “Even the man that set us on fire, I don't hold grudges against him. I have already forgiven him.”
“God said we should forgive everyone,” Philemon adds. “Always serve God and always forgive.”
An urgent window to act. They refuse to hide their faith. Let’s make sure they don't face the fire alone.
Millions of Nigerian believers currently are living in displacement camps, driven from their homes by targeted, violent attacks. Yet their joy and faith in Jesus remain unbroken. Make an eternal impact today by delivering urgent emergency aid, spiritual support, and bold advocacy so the Nigerian church can continue to shine in the darkness.
