In a letter to the editor of our local paper, one man today thought that we should all 'forgive' the shooter in the Fort Hood rampage. He said that this "would do more good to advance God's kingdom than a predator drone flying over Afghanistan."
While forgiveness is certainly an admirable quality and a mark of a true Christian, do we just forgive indiscriminately? Is that what God did for us? Did He forgive us just because he's a nice guy and we're really not all that bad? Absurd. Forgiveness came from God when we realized our hopelessness; when we realized our spiritual bankruptcy; when we turned away from our sin; when we turned to His one and only Son Jesus as the only remedy for our sorry condition.
When Hasan comes crawling in the dirt on his penitent hands and knees; when he comes crying and begging for the collective forgiveness of America; when he shows us how genuinely sorry he is for his terroristic acts against our brave men and women; when he takes full responsibility for crimes he perpetrated on our soil... then I'll do what the Bible says and 'forgive'. But not until then. Why would I do what God wouldn't do? God will never forgive him unless he repents of his great sin. And regardless of how many times he may ask for forgiveness, and how many people are willing to grant it to him, God has granted the state the right to wield the sword... and the state had better live up to its responsibility and make him pay with his life.
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