Untitled
Back in June I came on here and ranted about the complete lack of justice done in the case of roger borsch when he tied up and raped a 12 year old girl, said he had no recollection and got off because he suffered from traumatic stress syndrome. My feelings have not changed. Someone commented and I got the impression from those comments that I should feel some compassion for roger. I do. That does not mean that he should not have been punished to the fullest extent of the law.
When I think about what happened at Dawson College on Sept 13, I feel compassion as well. For all those people who were shot, for all those who got away, for all those who will have to live with the memory of that day. That includes Kimveer Gill, had he lived, and his family. But it does not mean that, had he lived, he should not have been punished for his crimes. Compassion in the dictionary means " a feeling that leads one to help a person who is suffering: sympathy; pity." It should not lead me to forgetting the crime and letting it go. But it still breaks my heart. When I look at the images of this young man, I cannot help but think about the people who looked at him 25 years ago. Did they look at him like I look at my grandchildren? With a love so big sometimes it threatens to break my heart and knock me to my knees. Did they maybe pray for him? Did they dream about the things that he would accomplish in his life? Maybe they had hopes that he would be doctor, or teacher, or truck driver, or mechanic. I don't know what they might have wanted for their little boy, but I do know that it wasn't this. What happened in this young mans life to turn him from the dreams that his parents had for him to the killer that he became. Some event, or series of events, welcomed or not, brought him to the point where he decided the only way to go was in a hail of gunfire and take as many as I can with me. When I think about it, my heart breaks. What are we doing to try and stop this kind of behavior from repeating itself. My kids all grew up to be awesome people, but how I wish that I would have spent more time with them as they were growing up. Listening to them and letting them know that I loved them for who they were, not for who I thought they should be. What are the parents of Kimveer Gill thinking today?
" There is no tenderness in the hearts of the Gills. No tenderness, no love, no mercy. Angry men with long coats, short tempers, and bags of bullets. The world they live in is a cave where the light rarely flickers. Thank goodness the don't force us to visit their caves more often." http://www.cjob.com/station/blog_adler.aspx
The above quote came from Charles Adler whom I find myself agreeing with more and more often.
There is a dark corner in a lot of us where we don't want the light to shine. Maybe it is something that we did, or some thought we had or still have that we know is not what Christ would have us think about. We are ashamed of it and think that hiding it will not hurt us. We don't want other people to know that there is something in our life that they must never know. After all, we have it all together, we are just fine. Not true. There was only one perfect person, and He died on the cross so that you and I can come to Him with our imperfections, knowing that He is waiting anxiously to restore or start a relationship with us. Nothing is that dark a secret that it can not be overcome by the light from the cross. This was not meant to sound like an alter call, but now that its here, and if this is for you, ask Jesus to shine his light into your darkness and banish it forever. And then go talk to someone whom you can trust and share that decision with them. Don't ever go it alone.
When I think about what happened at Dawson College on Sept 13, I feel compassion as well. For all those people who were shot, for all those who got away, for all those who will have to live with the memory of that day. That includes Kimveer Gill, had he lived, and his family. But it does not mean that, had he lived, he should not have been punished for his crimes. Compassion in the dictionary means " a feeling that leads one to help a person who is suffering: sympathy; pity." It should not lead me to forgetting the crime and letting it go. But it still breaks my heart. When I look at the images of this young man, I cannot help but think about the people who looked at him 25 years ago. Did they look at him like I look at my grandchildren? With a love so big sometimes it threatens to break my heart and knock me to my knees. Did they maybe pray for him? Did they dream about the things that he would accomplish in his life? Maybe they had hopes that he would be doctor, or teacher, or truck driver, or mechanic. I don't know what they might have wanted for their little boy, but I do know that it wasn't this. What happened in this young mans life to turn him from the dreams that his parents had for him to the killer that he became. Some event, or series of events, welcomed or not, brought him to the point where he decided the only way to go was in a hail of gunfire and take as many as I can with me. When I think about it, my heart breaks. What are we doing to try and stop this kind of behavior from repeating itself. My kids all grew up to be awesome people, but how I wish that I would have spent more time with them as they were growing up. Listening to them and letting them know that I loved them for who they were, not for who I thought they should be. What are the parents of Kimveer Gill thinking today?
" There is no tenderness in the hearts of the Gills. No tenderness, no love, no mercy. Angry men with long coats, short tempers, and bags of bullets. The world they live in is a cave where the light rarely flickers. Thank goodness the don't force us to visit their caves more often." http://www.cjob.com/station/blog_adler.aspx
The above quote came from Charles Adler whom I find myself agreeing with more and more often.
There is a dark corner in a lot of us where we don't want the light to shine. Maybe it is something that we did, or some thought we had or still have that we know is not what Christ would have us think about. We are ashamed of it and think that hiding it will not hurt us. We don't want other people to know that there is something in our life that they must never know. After all, we have it all together, we are just fine. Not true. There was only one perfect person, and He died on the cross so that you and I can come to Him with our imperfections, knowing that He is waiting anxiously to restore or start a relationship with us. Nothing is that dark a secret that it can not be overcome by the light from the cross. This was not meant to sound like an alter call, but now that its here, and if this is for you, ask Jesus to shine his light into your darkness and banish it forever. And then go talk to someone whom you can trust and share that decision with them. Don't ever go it alone.
posted by John at 9:05 AM
9 comments
