From napalm to forgiveness !

Wednesday February 23, 2022

From napalm to forgiveness !

Be kind and compassionate to one another ; forgive each other, as God has forgiven us in Christ. Ephesians 4.32

Phan Thi Kim Phuc (also known as Kim Phuc, “The Napalm Girl”) lived through the horror of a bombing that ravaged her village during the Vietnam War. Aged 9 in 1972, she was immortalized by a photographer, Nick Ut, who became world famous.

Following these bombings, Kim Phuc was hospitalized and underwent seventeen surgeries !

Used during her youth for political propaganda, she finds herself totally devastated, having lost her dreams and contemplating suicide. While hiding in a library to escape the government, she discovers the Bible there. She sees the true face of Christ there, puts her faith in him, identifies with his sufferings and finds the strength to forgive the man who had dropped the bomb.

Now married, living in Canada, she promotes peace in the world as a UNESCO goodwill ambassador (According to La Région, Yverdon-les-Bains, October 4, 2019). Forty-seven years after this tragedy, she delivers her story in a book (Sauvée de l'enfer, Éditions Ourania, 2018) presented during a conference tour in Europe during the summer of 2019.

His testimony challenges us on the power of forgiveness. First that of God for us, rebels against him, then the forgiveness to live in our relations with those who offend us. An example to imitate !

Reynald Kuffer

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Proposed reading : Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 6, verses 1 to 15.

Source (Live Today)