The Christians pray. The young man hears their words; he senses their relationship with their heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit is in that room as he promises to be wherever two or three are gathered in his name. The Holy Spirit touches that young man’s wounded heart.
At last he breaks down and confesses his evil intent. He is embraced in love by his former enemies and begins a new life in Christ. That’s the way I would have written it. But it’s not the way God wrote it. The embraced-in-love part is there. But only after the young man murders nine people. It is their devastated friends and families who forgive him, not the ones who worshipped and prayed along side him and reached out to him with the love of Christ. It has been a moving couple of weeks in Charleston, South Carolina, where the first shots of the American Civil War were fired more than a hundred and fifty years ago. I was initially shocked with the rest of the country by these senseless killings, but then I was thrilled with the powerful message of forgiveness that went out almost immediately from church members and families. The whole world heard that message. Dylann Root hoped to start a race war; instead he provoked what was probably the greatest show of racial unity Charleston has ever seen. The whole world wondered how such grace is possible. The answer was clearly articulated: Jesus Christ. I have never been so proud of our president as when listening to his eulogy at the funeral of slain pastor and state senator Clementa Pinckney. We evangelicals are not big into liturgy, but I would have liked to be in a church the following Sunday where this one was prayed, standing together with those who mourn. Black lives matter. There is no question here of the victims “deserving” their deaths. They are martyrs, victimized because of the faith that brought them to that place at that time. Their deaths have lead to a renewed discussion of the place of the Confederate flag, something that to me has always been a no brainer. What other country allows the flag of a defeated rebellion against the federal government to be flown without considering the act treasonous? I am pleased that so many marketers have committed to stop using this symbol of the worst of Southern culture as frivolous decoration. My version of this story would have been a sweet morality tale to touch a few individuals. God’s version has touched the world and, I hope, changed a nation.
3 Comments
Gail Bennett
6/30/2015 10:09:27 am
I agreed with all you said Leanne! And your comments about the Confederate flag, that it is the flag of a country that committed treason, is the sensible position that doesn't get heard enough. But I would agree with you that the big story, the huge story, was these people's willingness to take advantage of this moment in time that God gave them and witness to the love and grace and forgiveness of Christ. It was so powerful. Even in secular Britain, where my sister lives, the church's amazing grace response was spoken of over and over again on the television.
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LeAnne
7/1/2015 12:44:35 am
It was unexpected--unnatural even--and people take note.
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Michelle Naude
7/5/2015 10:18:33 pm
Thank you for your insightful post, Leanne. I was in Turkey at the time so I missed most of the coverage but it is good to know that the church's love and grace and forgiveness made such an impact.
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AuthorLeAnne Hardy has lived in six countries on four continents. Her books come out of her cross-cultural experiences and her passion to use story to convey spiritual truths in a form that will permeate lives. Add http://www.leannehardy.net/1/feed to your RSS feed.
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