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:
well posted uncle john, i really agree with your definition of compassion. well stated indeed
I can't even imagine what the families are feeling. It is such a tragedy.
What a sad sick world we live in. I too sometimes look at these cold blooded killers and think that once they were somebodies beautiful innocent little children full of life and endless possibilities and for it all to end so tragic is just so wrong. But we have an ememy of our soul going about like a roaring lion seeking those whom he may devour. Sad!
Mitz
I think we all need to think about the horrible events that have and will happen in this world and the people who perpetrate these events. They were once young innocent children just like all of ours. Their mothers and fathers may have held them and dreamed for them or they may have neglegted them and mistreated them. What makes a person into a monster? The lack of a Savior. We have a huge responsibility as Christians to introduce that Savior to as many people as God puts in our path.
Thank you, John, for your thought provoking post.
Good post John. I once heard a pastor speak on the power of evil that pushes a person to committing such horrible acts of violence. He said that the scary thing about it is that within each one of us resides the potential for the same acts of evil. It is by God's grace at work in our lives that we have been kept from making descisions that would lead to such tragic consequences. I am so thankful that His Spirit and other people influenced my life to keep me from going that far down the path that Satan would have had me travel.
I heard again this morning on Focus on the Family that very often extreme behaviour can be attributed to fact that the father was absent while the children grew up. An event like this reminds me again of how important it is for me as a father to be involved in the lives of my children.
Wow - couldn't have put it better myself. I agree, I believe in compassion, I believe in consequence to action, I believe in forgiveness. Sometimes those things seem mutually exclusive but with Christ in us, they're not. I pray that through this horrible event, the will of God is done in the lives of those it touched, which, let's face it, is all of us. I agree with Uncle Abe too, lest I forget that I'm only saved by the grace of God in my life.
Who knew Uncle John was a preacher? You should move to BC and start a church - Peter will do worship, Becky can sing and all will be right with my world.
Thanks Mel. You sure are funny.
OK, John. It'd been almost 6 weeks already. Did your computer die?
I miss your blog.
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