During the Vietnam war, an attack was made on a little village in South Vietnam 25 miles north of Saigon. Nine-year-old Kim and her family lived in this village, and with other villagers and soldiers, Kim and her family had hidden in a temple.
When Allied troops heard of the attack and that the enemy had taken over the village, they ordered a counterattack on the village. As a precaution, the attacking Allied general asked, “Are there any villagers there?” The answer was, “All the villagers have fled.” He asked again, “Are there ANY villagers there?” The answer again was that there were none left in the village, and so he issued the order to attack. Kim and her family’s hiding place was no longer a place of refuge — it was a deathtrap.
Those hiding in the temple heard the roar of the Allied planes and realized that they were no longer safe. As the planes came closer and closer, they started to run — and then the bombs rained on the village.
Kim, her brothers and others were running down the road when the bombs hit. Two of her cousins were killed instantly, and the heat wave from the dropping bombs burned the clothes right off Kim’s back. She screamed, “Too hot! Too hot!” As she ran, hurt and terrified, a man with a camera snapped a picture that took in the whole burning village with Kim in the middle, running. He cared enough about her that he put his camera gear down and took her and other children to the hospital and insisted that Kim be taken care of before she died.
Overnight, the picture became famous. It appeared in newsmagazines and newspapers around the world. Millions of people saw the heartrending picture of Kim running in terror from her burning village.
Back in Saigon, Kim was hospitalized for months with the awful burns on her back and arms. She slowly recovered enough to leave the hospital and eventually grew up to become a young lady in South Vietnam.
Kim was very depressed because her burns caused her constant pain, and she no longer wanted to live. She was also consumed with bitterness about what had happened to her. But then she found a New Testament in a library in Vietnam and learned about the salvation made by the Lord Jesus Christ. She learned that Jesus loved her and died to forgive her sins, and that she could be forgiven if she would simply believe on Him. Kim believed and became a forgiven child of God. After this, she began to pray for those who had caused her pain, and she realized that she loved them. Even though she still suffered pain and other physical problems, she was free from bitterness, because she had forgiven her enemies.
Eventually, she got married, and she and her husband escaped as refugees to Newfoundland, Canada. People knew about the war picture, and Kim was asked to speak in many places. When she spoke, Kim would tell how Christ had forgiven her for her sins.
The man who helped coordinate the attack on her village was still alive. The day after the attack he had seen the heartbreaking picture of Kim in the paper and he felt very troubled over his part in her sufferings. The picture haunted him even in his sleep. He became an alcoholic and had a rough life. Some years later, this man also heard the gospel of God’s love and forgiveness of sins. Deeply feeling his need of forgiveness, he accepted God’s gift of salvation. He eventually started serving the Lord full time, but he could never forget the picture of Kim.
One summer this man heard that Kim was going to New York City to speak to a group of Vietnam veterans. He decided to travel there to see Kim. When she finished talking, he followed her from the large room. She turned and they were able to talk for the first time. He sobbed as he told her he was so sorry, and she opened her arms to embrace him and told him, “It’s all right, I forgive, I forgive.” She had been forgiven herself by a forgiving God, and now she was willing to forgive others. “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:3232And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)). After this, the man stopped having nightmares about that scene that had haunted his life ever since the attack.
Have you come to the Lord Jesus Christ to have your sins forgiven? It’s just as simple as what that man did after hearing Kim speak. The man went to her, told her who he was, and received her forgiveness. The Lord Jesus not only loves you, He died for you so that He can offer you forgiveness for all your sins. You simply need to come to Him in prayer, tell Him you are a sinner and that you believe that He died to pay for your sins. His promise to you is, “I will forgive [your] iniquity, and I will remember [your] sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:3434And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:34)).
You may have His forgiveness right now. “Be it known unto you ... that through this Man [Jesus] is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 13:3838Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: (Acts 13:38)).
Messages of God’s Love 2/16/2025