Forgiving the past; Cambodia

The atrocities suffered by many in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge were terrible beyond description. More than 3 million lost their lives in the killing fields. One politician has commented how the nation has lost its moral compass when it lost all of its thinkers, intellectuals, artists, etc. And now one senses that the vacuum that was left by these dreadful losses has been filled, in the spiritual realm by more forces of evil. The house swept clean has been occupied by greater spiritual forces bent on the destruction of the nation.

Those who survived the brutality of that time are still learning to rebuild their lives. Give thanks for the elderly people of Cambodia for learning to forgive and move on for the sake of their children and country after the Khmer Rouge years. But so much more needs to be done.

One groups of pastors who meet together for mutual encouragement, learning and support learned that a former officer of the Khmer Rouge forces was now one of them. How should they react?

Forgiveness and reconciliation is no longer just a word, a pious act before in a service. This is the desperate need of men and women whose lives were forever changed by the brutality of their fellow men.

Ask God for words and pictures that give a sense of his heart for this nation, and pray them over this country. the spiritual battle for this nation is real and challenging.