Do we know what we are doing?

Scriptures: ‘Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”’ (Luke 23:34)

The other day, I came across an article talking about an Englishman called John Newton. John started his sailing career when he was eleven. He went sailing with his father on a slave ship. That’s when he stepped into the slave trade and later became a captain of a slave ship himself.

He used to trade with African chiefs in a western African country called Sierra Leon. He would sell guns, jewelry, cloths, and many other things to them in exchange for slaves these chiefs caught in tribal wars. He would then ship these slaves to North America and then to England for huge profits. According to his diary, these slaves suffered extreme inhuman treatments. The living condition was even worse. Many of these slaves did not survive the voyage and were thrown overboard into the oceans.

One time, his ship ran into a sever storm and was severely damaged. The water kept coming in the ship. John thought for sure he was going to die. And, for the first time in life, he cried to God, “God, have mercy on us.” And, amazingly, the entire ship was saved and sailed to England safely.

John later recalled that he knew for certain that it was God’s grace that spared him. As a result, his life was completely changed and, later on, he left the slave trade altogether and became a faithful minister preaching the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Because of his background in slave trade, he knew the sinful nature of that trade.

Therefore, after he became a pastor, he also did everything he could to educate people of that time the dark and inhuman side of slave trading. His efforts inspired another Englishman by the name of William Wilberforce who later pushed for the abolition of slavery in England. An ex-slave-ship captain turned into an advocate of the abolition of slavery. What a dramatic change in life. Through his life, John Newton demonstrated the power of the gospel of Jesus.

More than the abolition of slavery, he also wrote a few hymns one of which is still well loved today, The Amazing Grace. In the first verse, he wrote, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.” He was deeply moved by the love and grace shown on the cross by our Lord Jesus. In the light of the salvation Jesus brought us, John saw the true state of himself, a wretched sinner.

He might have been in the wrong business and doing the terrible things to those innocent western African men and women. But that was because he did not know any better. Once he came face to face to his Savior, he knew what the right thing to do and he dedicated his life to the freedom of those enslaved.

Every time I read our passage today, I can’t help feeling that amazing and incomprehensible love of God. Even when Jesus was nailed and hung on the cross, He pleaded with our heavenly Father to forgive those people who put Him to death, and a death so horrible. We are those people. Yet, He interceded for us. He saw something in us, that is, under the power of sin, we don’t really know what we are doing, like John not knowing what he was doing when he was in slave trade.

But, thanks God for He has mercy on us and has redeemed us from sin so that we don’t have to go through our lives not knowing what we are doing. As the Good Friday and the Easter are coming, let’s meditate on the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus more. The passage today has been considered as the first thing Jesus said on the cross. As we stand before the cross once more, let’s ask for His help so we may truly understand what He has accomplished on that cross for us and so we may be transformed for His use and His glory!

Prayer Requests:
For those seeking treasure of this world and missing the ultimate goal and meaning God has for them.

Prayer:
Our heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to set us free from the bondage of sin. We ask that Your Spirit help us to humble ourselves before Jesus, the Prince of Peace. As we stand before the cross, help us to look up to our Lord who hung there for us so we may see what You see, feel what You feel, and be willing to submit ourselves to You for Your glory! We pray in the precious name of Jesus, our Lord and Redeemer, Amen!