This world can be a dark and scary place, every day the news focuses on the tragedies and pain that takes place locally or around the world. People are fallible, we hurt one another, sometimes on purpose, and at other times accidently, it happens and we can feel helpless to control what we do. Yet, the one thing in life we can control, our own actions or reactions can be life and death to others, as well as ourselves. Growing up in a very violent home, with no understanding of love or forgiveness, forgiveness becomes a commodity not given easily. Years ago, I experienced a love I cannot explain and strive everyday to reflect, still the question arises how. How does one emulate and reflect a love they cannot explain or understand? In his book “Unconditional”, Brian Zahnd gives us the answer to that question when he says, “In a world where the ugliness of rage and retaliation are driving the story line of the twenty-first century, the beauty of authentic Christian forgiveness is the compelling alternative” (xxi). In discovering the full meaning and depth of forgiveness of Christ on the cross, I could not have anticipated the affect this act of mercy would have on me. Knowing this profundity, I am drawn to teachings of forgiveness, to understand how to follow the example of Christ. Because if one truly appreciates the lengths Christ has gone to forgive, knowing how much they have been forgiven, one finds themselves compelled to follow and explore. Therefore, the first questions I have when encountering such a book is, what kind of man wrote it, does his credibility stand scrutiny?
I know many may not be willing or open enough to go further. The word “Christian” means very little to some, it has simply become a label, thrown around by those who wish to hold themselves up as holier than thou, or used as a scapegoat to avoid their own issues, it may even be used to describe a nut, freak or even weakness. I have known such people myself, however I have found that to some, identification or identity in Christ is what it means to be Christian, and it is to those like me who wish to know more of exactly what that means I take up this examination. In writing his book Zahnd says,
I have primarily had a Christian audience in mind, as I assume Christians will comprise the majority of my readers. But to those who do not identify themselves as Christians, I want to say I have also kept you in mind. I invite you to regard this book, as my summation of what I think Christianity in its essence is all about (xx).
Founder and Senior Pastor of Word of Life Church, for 29 years Zahnd has led and taught what Christianity is, first by the Bible and second by example. Building upon his faith in Christ, he has established a four thousand plus membership church (family) that sits out to live what he teaches, and follows in Christ. Yet, it is not Zahnd that the church follows, but Christ who has brought them to Zahnd. After attending 2 years at Missouri Western State Collage and leading a simple coffee shop Bible study, Zahnd quit school to answer the call upon his life, founding in faith the home and school of life that would eventually end up in the middle of a cornfield. Ensuing the prompting of the Holy Spirit, Zahnd stepped out in faith to establish Word of Life. A task that at times seemed improbable, yet he could not shake the word in his heart telling him to teach faith and the church would grow.
As I said, we are all fallible, it has not always been an easy road and like everyone, mistakes were made, yet with every mistake growth. One of the most humble men I have ever met, Zahnd willingly stands before his congregation and admits to his own weaknesses and mistakes when made, things like anger over dealing with lost luggage issues. If after having taught something wrong, he has stood before them and said so, such as his early teachings about the gift of tongues. At one time, he did not accept this as a gift given by God in these current times, but he has since come to a better understanding and acceptance of such. Correcting his mistakes and turning it into an example to follow and admire, Zahnd has stood through the criticism of those who do not know his heart. No one can spend time with him without learning that he is an avid reader, educated by great writers. He devours their works, immersing himself into deep thinking, often quoting his favorite authors such as the Apostle Paul, Bonhoeffer, Dostoevsky, or Bob Dylan. He so easily lays before you the simple truth and understanding of the Bible. One cannot help but feel a kinship not only with him, but also with the humanity of Christ and His teaching.
For those who believe, the question why can plague them? We ask the question why because we know our own ability to hold onto bitterness and selfishness, the exact opposite of the teachings of Christ. “Unconditional” is easily understandable if one is open to it, which is the key. Knowing this Zahnd says, “Too often the message of Jesus has been misrepresented by the ugly faces of legalism, triumphalism, and religiously inspired hatred” (xx). “My hope is that you will allow me to present to you the beautiful face of Christianity- the face of forgiveness” (xxi). Zahnd begins at one of the most horrific events in history the Holocaust, and takes us into the painful question, can or should forgiveness be given in such atrocity. After, he takes us into the kind of personal painful experiences that many have suffered such as: rape, murder, or abuse. Though being too young to have lived through the Holocaust, and never having experienced the above-mentioned plagues of life. Zahnd has taken the teachings and experience of such great writers as Corrie Ten Boom and others to heart, for one cannot read the true-life experiences of such people as Mrs. Ten Boom without it having a profound impact upon them. With his insightful understanding heart, Zahnd takes apart the experience of forgiveness through the eyes of Mrs. Ten Boom, piece by piece to embrace the kind of heart it would take to forgive as she had. Then in his forthright ability lays the truth about the kind of strength and faith necessary to forgive with the heart of Christ. Eugene H. Petersen, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology Regent College, Vancouver, BC, author and interpreter of the Message Bible says,
Brian Zahnd is blunt, bold and biblical: we simply cannot embrace violence and retaliation in the name of Jesus. As he juxtaposes the centrality of the cross (“Father forgive them”) and the teaching of Jesus (“love your enemies”), he exposes the blasphemous absurdity of hating your enemies in Jesus name. An authentic prophetic voice in the lineage of Elijah and Amos.
Jon R. Wallace, DBA President, Azusa Pacific University says,
Forgiveness takes on a whole new meaning in this powerful book, because forgiveness for the Christian is really radical just as Jesus intended it to be. Brian Zahnd takes the reader on a journey that at times is breathtaking. He reminds us that forgiveness is one of the most difficult acts in all our lives, yet he fully explains how we can radically forgive and become a living imitation of Jesus Christ. His illustrations and true stories of forgiveness are unimaginable yet real, leaving you with the realization that you want to be that type of forgiving Christian.
As Mr. Wallace and Mr. Petersen point out, once you begin the journey with Zahnd through “Unconditional”, you soon find that he does not sugar coat the responsibility of every Christian. When he says, “If we enter the Christian faith to find forgiveness, we must continue in the faith to become forgiving people, because to be an authentic follower of Christ we must embrace the centrality of forgiveness” (2). This is the same as hitting the nail on the head with a sledgehammer, and cannot be more direct. Sticking with him on this journey you will find his heart in every page, and the knowledge that comes with a life lived for Christ when he says, “… the call of Christ to take up our cross and follow him is very specifically a call to love our enemies and end the cycle of revenge by responding with forgiveness” (11). He also goes so far as to answer the question that will plague many when he states,
Christian forgiveness is not a cheap denial of the reality of evil or the trite sloganeering of forgive and forget. That may suffice for minor personal affronts, but it is hollow and even insulting when applied to crimes like murder, rape, and genocide. Christian forgiveness does not call us to forget. Christian forgiveness allows us to remember but calls us to end the cycle of revenge (11, 12). If the only way of responding to the evil of injustice is retaliation and revenge, we conspire with the powers of darkness to keep the world an ugly place (19). Forgiveness is not a feeling. Forgiveness is a choice to end the cycle of revenge and leave justice in the hands of God (20).
No one reading this book could come away with the impression that being Christian is a weakness. Forgiveness, radical forgiveness as described by Zahnd is anything but weak. In fact, as he points out with some of his true stories of such, the forgiveness Christians are called to cannot be accomplished without the work of Christ in the Christian. Zahnd also addresses the desire to seek revenge or balance the scales when he says,
You may get even, you may achieve payback, you may gain your revenge, but you will stay forever chained to the injustice done to you. Your in danger of forming your identity around your injustice in such a way that it forever shapes your future. Even if you get even, you will still drag that ball of chain with you. In looking for an opportunity to be cruel to the person who was cruel to you, you will become a cruel person. And in becoming a cruel person, your cruelty will, in all likelihood, not be limited to the person or persons who have treated you cruelly. In seeking the opportunity to repay cruelty with cruelty, cruelty will become your identity, your lifestyle and your character. Tragically, you will do the very thing you hate: you will inflict cruel injustice upon others. Worse yet, you will become the very thing you hate. Evil is only defeated when someone absorbs the blow and forgives thus ending the cycle of evil. Absorbing the blow without retaliation by exercising the option to forgive is not weakness or acquiescence with injustice; it is taking up your cross and following Jesus. It is following Jesus to Calvary, and there ending evil through the triumph of forgiveness. Forgiveness is not weakness; it is the power of God, the power of God to overcome evil by depriving evil of a host for retaliation (83, 84).
To understand one must suffer an injustice, the kind of injustice no wants to experience. I know injustice all too well, and just how easily it is to become the very thing you despise. For those of us who have, and have awakened to our disease, Zahnd’s book will finally put to rest how to forgive, not just those who have hurts us, but ourselves too. Giving way to restoration with Christ, restoration and peace that can only come from the ability to forgive and accept forgiveness. Growing up in the world of pain I have, “Unconditional” not only set up my heart to experience a breaking much needed for growth, but put my mind to rest with a peace long sought, peace that only comes from the release of hurt and forgiveness. Having been accepted for who I am and welcomed into Zahnd’s church family years ago. I have been blessed to see the spiritual growth of this humble man. I have been on the front lines of his teachings about faith, love and forgiveness. Yet, God has put a questioning heart in me, so I continue to examine what I learn from Zahnd, never having been someone to follow blindly or uninformed. Zahnd has accomplished what he set out to do by showing the beautiful heart of Christianity and central focus point of the Gospel, which is love. This book is a call to the wilderness of your heart. It is the radical journey one must take to discover his or her self in order to truly live. In “Unconditional” Zahnd has given us the tools needed to let go of the past, to accept and offer restoration.
Work Cited
Zahnd, Brian. Unconditional. Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2010. Print.
