How finding forgiveness in Jesus enabled a Scripture Reader to heal a broken friendship.
By ASR Gavin Dickson, Scripture Reader at Colchester Garrison
This article was first published in our Spring 2023 Ready magazine.
A silver knife, fork and spoon are on display inside the Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’ Mess of the Scots Guards. A note details how a former soldier once stole these items of cutlery. After coming to know Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, he returned the stolen silver and pleaded for forgiveness. The prominent place in which these items are on show bears witness to generations of soldiers and shows how Christ’s forgiveness has the power to transform lives.
When I served in Germany, a colleague asked if I would post a parcel for him. He had bought cigarettes in the NAAFI and wanted to post them in an attempt to bypass customs and avoid paying tax. I agreed I would send the parcel but ran out of money to do so and figured I would take them back on a flight to the UK and deliver them myself. As I set off for the UK, I unfortunately went to the wrong airport and ran down the taxi rank trying to negotiate a lift to the right one. A driver agreed to take me to the correct airport if I paid him in cigarettes.
‘Gavin, you are a Christian now. Does that mean you don’t lie?’
My colleague’s cigarettes never arrived in the UK. For years, he asked if I had stolen them but I denied it each time. When I became a Christian, this colleague, along with my whole regiment, was shocked to witness the change in my behaviour. When I was in Afghanistan he said, ‘Gavin, you are a Christian now. Does that mean you don’t lie?’
‘I try my best not to.’ I replied.
‘Right then,’ he said, ‘did you send those cigarettes or did you steal them?’
It was remarkable to have my new Christian faith challenged. While his efforts to avoid paying tax were wrong, I remember thinking that this did not lessen the guilt of my wrongdoing. The assurance of my forgiveness through Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection made owning up simple and even provided an opportunity to proclaim the gospel in setting things straight. I told him the story of what had happened, confessed that I had taken the cigarettes and asked if he would forgive me for my actions and for lying over all those years. I then promised to repay the cost of the cigarettes, which I did. Though not a Christian, he forgave me.
A relationship that had been contaminated by theft and continuous lying for nearly ten years was restored and trust was forged.
PRAY WITH US
- Praise God that Christ’s forgiveness has the power to transform lives.
- Give thanks that Gavin’s colleagues noticed the sanctifying work of Jesus in his life. Pray this would resonate with them even now.
