On December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan executed a surprise attack on the United States military forces at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Though the leaders of the United States knew that war with Japan was possible, they did not discern the imminent risk and were therefore unprepared for the aerial assault by the Japanese. The destruction was shocking. Bombs and torpedoes ignited overwhelming fires. Ships, aircraft, and other military assets were damaged and destroyed. The human casualties numbered thirty-four hundred of whom twenty-three hundred died. For those who survived, emotional wounds were arguably the most severe. The survivors experienced shock and horror and the loss of many friends. To move past the traumatic emotional wounds would require forgiveness.
The last eight minutes of the video Tora, Tora, Tora: The True Story of Pearl Harbor Documentary1 addressed the emotional pain experienced by the US military personnel at Pearl Harbor. Specifically, three men were highlighted—Don Stratton (Seaman First Class, USS Arizona), Herbert Weatherwax (US Army, Schofield Barracks), and Richard Fisk (Bugleman, USS West Virginia). Each man responded to the events differently. Two of the men assumed that forgiveness meant forgetting; but one chose not to forget, and the other chose to forget. Here is a summary of their perspectives.
- On board the USS Arizona, Don Stratton was badly burned and lost many friends. Years after the attack, he said, “I have never forgiven them [the Japanese] and never will.”2 Don could not forget the loss of friends and nearly losing his own life at the hands of the Japanese. Because Don assumed that forgiveness required forgetting, he could not forgive. As a result, Don continues to live with the bitterness.
- Herbert Weatherwax’s response to the painful events of that day was a personal choice. He decided that he needed to move on with life and, to do so, he assumed that he had to forget the experience. In other words, he chose to repress his emotional wounds. By an act of his volition, Herbert sought to forgive and forget. But trying to forget pain only leads to repression and denial.
The third man made a different assumption. He believed that to truly forgive, one must not forget nor can one allow the memory of the personal pain to define the experience. Rather, one must remember in light of a broader perspective of reality.
- Richard Fisk realized that to move forward he had to face the pain and find a way to forgive. Living in the bitterness of unforgiveness is bondage. Years later, Richard met one of the Japanese pilots who attacked his ship. The pilot was ashamed and apologized to Richard who responded that no apology was needed, both men had been soldiers doing their duty, serving their countries. Richard hugged his former enemy and that day they became friends. Richard displayed the ability to see beyond his pain to the bigger picture. This enabled him to forgive but did not require him to forget. This is a sign of healing.
The proper way to respond to emotional trauma is to see pain in the greater context of reality; I call this “metaphysical awareness”—the ability to see traumatic events from God’s perspective and, specifically, the ability to see that God is always working good.3
To illustrate this, consider the Old Testament account of how Joseph displayed metaphysical awareness when remembering emotional trauma.
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him." So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Your father gave this command before he died: 'Say to Joseph, "Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you."' And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants." But Joseph said to them, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones." Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. (Gen. 50:15–21 ESV)
Joseph remembered the traumatic treatment by his siblings who wanted to kill him but instead chose to sell him into slavery. As a slave, Joseph was wrongly accused of sexual impropriety and imprisoned. While imprisoned, he served two public officials who had fallen out of favor with the Pharaoh. But when one of the public officials was restored to his government position, he forgot about the care and kindness shown to him by Joseph and did not seek Joseph’s release. Joseph had many reasons to harbor unforgiveness but, in the end, he was able to gain metaphysical awareness. This enabled him to remember the trauma but forgive those who inflicted the pain. The key was to see that God was working good in all the events to prepare Joseph for his destiny.
Learning to forgive is a key virtue of Christianity. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus stressed the importance of forgiveness with these words:
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matt. 6:14–15 ESV)
To understand this text correctly, keep in mind the essence of the gospel, which is salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. This means that humans can never do enough good works to merit salvation from the penalty of sin and death. Consequently, human forgiveness does not save anyone but the capacity to extend human forgiveness is a mark of a person who has been saved. Given that Christians are charged to obey the commands of Christ,4 it is incumbent on them to forgive.
Furthermore, the responsibility to forgive is continuous and unrelenting. Jesus made this point in a conversation with Peter. Note this interaction:
Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. (Matt. 18:21–22 ESV)
Some believe that the reference to seventy-seven times was a figure of speech to imply there is no limit to the number of times Christians should forgive.
I think Scripture is clear that forgiveness is a seminal mark of a true follower of Christ and is to be extended without limit. This can be very challenging, particularly if a person has experienced extreme trauma. Nevertheless, the charge for those who profess to know Christ is to walk in obedience to his commands.5 And one of the key commands of Christ is to forgive—not to forgive and forget but to forgive and remember.
The power to forgive comes through metaphysical awareness—seeing reality from God’s perspective, which means we know that in every situation God is working good. When a person remembers a traumatic experience from God’s perspective, the memory no longer controls the person because of the healing power of forgiveness. May the Lord grant us grace for metaphysical awareness so that we can always forgive and remember and, therefore, enjoy the healing power of forgiveness.
Happy New Year!
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1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_xoByhDdEE&t=25s.
2. Ibid.
3. Romans 8:28; James 1:2–4.
4. Matthew 28:18–20.
5. Ibid. 
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