No Room for Gloating

If you're friends with me on Facebook, you know that I've posted quite a few articles and thoughts about the trial of Kermit Gosnell, the abortion "doctor" who was convicted yesterday of 3 counts of First Degree murder.

The Gosnell case is chilling and disturbing to me on many levels.  First and foremost is because there are few things in my mind more ghastly and wretched than abortion.  I'm staunchly and firmly against any and all abortion, and I believe that every follower of Jesus Christ should be.  I just can't fathom how we can read God's Word and come to the conclusion that life doesn't begin at conception.  I can't even fathom how we could study biology and embryology and conclude that life doesn't begin at conception.  Every human life is sacred, and every person is created in the image of God.  To somehow think that because a life that has been created and ordained by God is inconvenient or unwanted is the height of arrogance and ignorance.  

I'm also deeply disturbed that we live in a country in which a first degree murder charge is defined by a matter of inches.  Literally.  If Gosnell had snipped the spines of babies in the mother's uterus or cervix, he would have just been performing a "medical procedure."  We have a grave problem in our culture when first degree murder is a matter of inches.  

And can we dispel with the foolish notion that keeping abortion legal means that it will be safe and rare, i.e. the mantra of the pro abortion crowd?  For whom is abortion safe?  It's certainly not safe for the baby.  Have you ever considered what a baby experiences in abortion?  A baby with a fully, or even partially, formed central nervous system that allows it to experience pain, just like you and I experience?  No matter what means are used in abortion - whether chemical or mechanical - that baby feels tremendous pain.  I once heard Abby Johnson, who used to work for Planned Parenthood but is now a born-again, pro-life crusader, talk about her first hand experience in seeing this cold, hard truth.   And abortion is hardly rare, when it happens over a million times a year in our country.

As I followed the Gosnell case, which was largely ignored by the media and our lawmakers, I mostly felt rage and disgust.  It's appropriate, and even good, to be outraged and disgusted by sin and carnage.  Jesus was.  Outrage, anger and disgust with sin brings us to repentance and magnifies the grace of Jesus in our own lives.  I was thankful that the jury in the Gosnell case reached the verdict that it did, and that earthly justice will be served in this case.

But there have been times when I, and other Christians I know, have forgotten about the grace of Jesus in this case.  In my human nature, I've thought, "There's a special place in hell for people like Gosnell," or "I hope he experiences just a fraction of the pain and carnage that he's inflicted on untold thousands of women and babies."  Earthly justice, as outlined in Romans 13, has been, and will continue to be, served.

But grace.  What do we do with it?  It's a tricky thing, isn't it?  Uncomfortable to think about in situations like this, when we cry out for justice to be done.  I was reminded yesterday of Paul's words to the young leader Timothy about the greatness of God's grace.  Look at what Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:15&16 -  Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

Paul is a guy who got grace, and understood it's unfairness and the discomfort that it can cause when our hearts cry out for justice.  I think many Christians tend to forget Paul's past in an effort to sanitize grace.  When Paul says that he was the worst of sinners before he met Christ, he meant it!  This isn't some emotional soapbox where Paul is trying to garner sympathy or empathy points with his audience.  This is real life.  Things as they are, not as we want them to be.

Until Jesus knocked Paul on his butt in Acts 9, he was responsible for things that were as morally repugnant and reprehensible as Kermit Gosnell.  Paul oversaw the persecution of followers of Jesus.  In his position of power and authority, he paved the way for the murder of many - hundreds, if not thousands - Christians.  Crucifixion.  Stoning.  All kinds of treacherous and wretched acts.

"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."  Christ Jesus came into the world to save the worst of the worst, and to forgive the worst of the worst.  Christ Jesus came into the world to heal and redeem people who were enemies of God, and to make them the friends of God.  For those of us who, by worldly standards, haven't been as far gone as Paul the mercy and grace of Jesus makes us uncomfortable.  But let's face the facts of what God's Word says in Romans 5:10 - For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

When we know this and understand it, there is no room for gloating when earthly justice is served.  We can be thankful for it.  We can even hope and pray for it.   But earthly justice is just a reminder of the broken and depraved world that we live in.  Earthly justice should always cause us to press into and appreciate more the grace of Jesus Christ, because earthly justice is a stone, cold reminder of the justice of our holy and righteous God that cannot and will not tolerate sin in His presence.

I don't like to talk about God's justice, because it forces us to deal with the realities of hell and what it would be like to be separated from God for all eternity.  Jesus used many metaphors to describe hell - fire, a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, a great darkness, a place of torment.  Whether the pain of hell is literal and tangible, or the pain of hell is purely spiritual and emotional, it's real.  Jesus said it is.  And while the sinful man inside of me wants to gloat about people receiving justice, I know that the desire of Jesus in every person's life is to display mercy and his unlimited patience and to save them from hell.

So what do we do?  As hard as it is, we have to pray for Kermit Gosnell.  We have to pray for people in the abortion industry.  We have to pray for murders and rapists and the worst of the worst.  We have to pray for their salvation.  We have to pray that Jesus would draw them into repentance and reconciliation with the Father.  Because whether we care to admit it or not, spiritually, we were all in the same place once before Jesus saved us.  For people who have received grace from Jesus, and have experienced his unlimited patience in drawing us to repentance, there is no room for gloating when earthly justice is carried out. 

Listen to this plea from Abby Johnson, who I mentioned above.  She was once where Kermit Gosnell was.  She was once where Paul was.  She was once where you and I were:  
 We will be judged for our words and for hate in our hearts. Christ says that hate in our hearts is equal to murder. To wish death or harm on someone is a sin, and makes us no better than those who do murder. We are all deserving of death. Sometimes in these situations it is hard to remember...but Christ died for Kermit Gosnell, too. If you feel hate in your heart or wish him harm, I suggest you spend some serious time in prayer and say nothing...to protect your own soul. We are ALL created in the image and likeness of Christ.