Jeremiah's Testimony (Part 2)
I’m Sorry: The Words That Changed Everything
My father was an alcoholic, and I had often seen him beat my mother. It had created hatred and rage. Whenever I thought of my father, the image of my mother's bruises came to my mind. I was convinced that I would never forgive him who had beaten us all so much. We had to sleep in the forest many times. When my father was 46, he got cancer.
My three brothers wanted to visit him, but I didn't want to go; we never spoke. When my father's health situation had become critical, the Norwegian pastor came to Nepal again. He shared the message of forgiveness. Many of the other students cried and forgave, but I said to myself, "That will never happen." I kept my distance from the pastor, but the leader at that conference sent me to him so that I could receive intercession. He hugged me again and the first words he said were: "I love you, my son. I'm sorry." It hit me hard, and I started to cry.
As he hugged me, my father's face came to my mind. Then and there, I decided to forgive him. Soon after, I went home. My father was terminally ill with cancer and was getting worse day by day. He was lying at home just waiting to die. It got to the point where I thought I just had to go and hug him. At seven in the morning, on December 20, 2016, we were sitting by my father’s bedside, all four of us brothers with our spouses and children. Then I spoke to him and said, “I’m sorry, we’re all sorry.” Immediately a tear came from my father’s left eye. I continued, “Many times you have hit us, many times you have said mean things, but today I can say that I have forgiven you everything and said goodbye to all the hurt and pain.”
For the first time ever, our father said, “I’m sorry too. Can you forgive me?” My youngest brother asked him, “Do you want to believe in Jesus?” He couldn’t speak, but he nodded. So we prayed for his salvation right then and there. Six days later, we invited our pastor to our house. Again, we asked my father if he would accept and believe in Jesus Christ. This time, he answered loud and clear for everyone to hear: “I want to be a Christian.” Two weeks later, he died and went to heaven. A month after that, my ninety-year-old grandmother accepted Christ. She was baptized at the age of 91, on December 17, 2018. After that, not a single person came into her house who didn’t hear the testimony of Jesus.
