"We should be glad that he's gone, and can no longer hurt anyone. But we should not rejoice in his death, nor that he has died in such a way. We should grieve that it was a necessary thing to do, and that he was not at all sorry for what he did. And let us keep in mind what Jesus said to those who would condemn another as in John 8:7 'He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone....'"
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The quote my sister used quoted the Bible. I know that we want good to triumph and evil to be vanquished. The Bible does speak of this. But the message in the Bible is not primarily one of justice, but one of grace. The Bible is very very very clear, "There is no one righteous, not even one." "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity (the guilt) of us all."
Justice is that all of us deserve hell. No one deserves His grace.
But for the grace of God, there go I. Only fear has kept my feet from treading down some very bad paths. I thank God for that fear.
The beauty of it all is expressed so wonderfully in Romans 5, where Paul speaks of God's lavish redemption of us WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS - while we were his enemies! By faith - given to those who believe freely by his grace - we are RECONCILED.
But we ought not rejoice that others are not, even when they have been so bold in their evil and so unjust.
2 comments:
I'm glad you girls are pondering this in your own hearts and souls.
Your Mom believes in self defense and the defense of my off-spring and their off-spring. It is unfortunate when this choice needs to be implemented. However, we are and have been at war, a state that demands such choices.
In God We Trust,
MOM
Agreed Mom, but the REJOICING in his death, the outright celebration, the flagrant "Isn't it wonderful that he's dead!" and glorying rather than grieving in this action is what bothers me. If I killed someone in self defense, I would MOURN it, not glory in it. I would live with that person's blood on my hands, even if justly so. And I would know it, and feel it deeply, that the life is in the blood and no one but the Lord has "right" to take a person's life.
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