“If you forgive others, your Father in heaven will forgive you too.” -- Matthew 6:14
The frail woman looks exhausted; grief has taken its toll on her. Across the courtroom sit the teenage boys who entered her home two years ago. They kidnapped her only son to settle a stupid argument; to teach him a lesson they claimed. Jason, the oldest one, has just been tried, convicted and now awaits the Judge’s sentence.
Chilling memories flood back. She vividly recalls the day Sherriff’s Deputies came to her front door with the dreadful news. His charred remains were found along the river. During the trial she learned that they had bound and savagely beaten him. Lying on a dry woodpile, his last words spoken through swollen lips as they doused him in gasoline and set him aflame were, "Father, forgive them . . ."
Back in the courtroom now, she listens to Jason’s confession. She can’t process exactly what he says; her emotions are suffocating her. But he seems sincere enough - now that he’s sober and had time to reflect about the many lives he ruined. Jason slumps back into his seat – waiting for the “gates of justice” to slam shut on his miserable life.
“Ma’am, is there anything you’d like to say before I pass judgment?” the Judge asks. “Any wishes that you’d like to convey to this boy who so brutally destroyed your son?"
"I want three things," begins the distraught mother. First, I want to be taken to the place where my son was burned so that I may plant wild flowers. I don’t want that place to be remembered as the scene of a heinous crime, but as a place where healing began; where new life begins.”
"My son was all I had,” she says in a soft tone. “Second, I’d like to adopt Jason. Twice monthly, I’d like him released from the Detention Center to spend the day with me at the pediatric cancer hospital where I volunteer. In that way, we can pour out whatever love we still have remaining within us, for the rest of our years."
"And, finally," she says calmly, but confidently, "I want Jason to know that I forgive him . . . because Jesus Christ died to forgive me!”
With that she walked across the room and embraced her new son in a way that sealed her conviction.
Asked later to explain her actions, the woman replied humbly, “I asked God to pardon my unforgiving heart and remove my bitterness. Alone, I knew I couldn’t defeat the rage within me. My prayers were never from a compassionate heart, but from my desire to please my heavenly Father. We are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.”
Sweet Jesus, even though we rejected, beat, spat upon and finally aided in your murder – You continually pour out your love and blessings on us. Help me to love my enemies, bless those who hate me, and pray for those who persecute me. Amen
