I am just so taken aback by the life of Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela was not a perfect person and he was a sinful man like each of us. But he demonstrated the biblical concept of not only forgiving your enemies, but embracing them. Jesus said to go above and beyond with your enemies and Mandela did just that. And South Africa not only was spared a potentially nasty civil war, but it experienced reconciliation.
Just pause and think what might have happened if he came out of 27 years of incarceration and easily rallied the black population in war. But he not only didn't do that, he embraced his enemy. This is vividly portrayed in the movie Invictus. Mandela embraced the mostly white rugby team that symbolized oppression and made it the national team. He got South Africa on the national stage and made it the rallying cry.
I just saw the 60 minutes interview with family, friends, workers about Nelson Mandela. One interviewee said he was a normal man to which Anderson Cooper said, "it is not normal to forgive after 27 years in prison". He was right. It is supernatural to forgive that way, but he did. And it sets an example for each of us.
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