If you've seen any pictures of the Vietnam War, you've probably seen this picture. A 9 year old Vietnamese girl, her clothes burned off by napalm, is fleeing an American-led assault on her village. She is running toward the camera, her mouth open wide in terror and incomprehensible pain.

For John Plummer, that picture is forever a part of him. He was the American chopper pilot responsible for raining fire that day on the village of Trang Bang. The next day when that picture hit the front pages, John Plummer was devastated by it. For 24 years he carried the image of that burned and terrified girl in his mind. Three marriages, two divorces, a severe drinking problem - and then the TV newscast that night that showed that girl's picture again - and then showed that woman today, now living in Toronto.

That was the first John Plummer even knew the girl who had haunted his conscience for so long was still alive. He learned her name was Kim Phuc, now 33 years old. He watched and saw the thick white scars the splashing napalm had left on her neck and arm and back. He learned she had 17 operations but still lives with pain.

Not long before, John's long struggle led him to surrender his life to God. And now he wanted to face Kim. Providentially, he got that opportunity at a Veterans Day observance at the Vietnam War Memorial. Kim was the speaker. When she finished, John Plummer fought his way through the crowd to try to reach her. He did. This time, there was no news photographer to take the picture - but it was an unforgettable moment. John told Kim who he was . . . and she just opened her arms to him. He fell into her arms sobbing. All he could say was, "I'm so sorry. I'm just so sorry." And the woman with the scars from what he had done patted his back and said these words, "It's all right. I forgive. I forgive."

Those are two words that you may need to hear. From the One you have hurt the most. From the One who bears the scars of what you did. The words - "I forgive."

We've all done things we're not proud of - things we wish we could erase from our conscience. We know it's call sin. And though there may not be a photograph to haunt us, we still carry the weight, the guilt, the regret of all those "sins."

"I forgive." Those words are not cheap, it's has the power to chase away all the hates. It can make enemy to become friends again... Most of all, it turn hate to love.

(kembali ke index)