Even the worst can find grace

I was inspired by something in the news today. As most people (at least in the US) probably know, on this past Friday a man escaped police custody in the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, shot 3 people on his way out, and later killed a federal agent who tried to bring him in.

Sometime late, late Friday night, this man found a woman entering her apartment, went up to her and forced himself in, thus taking her hostage. He was apprehended mid-morning Saturday while at this same apartment. This morning when I watched the news, the woman was giving her account of what happened inside the apartment.

He put a gun to her to force himself in. At first, he tied her up. Over time, he began to trust her more, and she began to trust him more. He untied her. The guns were sitting around the house where she could have easily reached for them. The phone was never more than a few steps away.

Instead of grabbing a gun and shooting him, instead of calling 911, this woman got her bible and her copy of The Purpose Driven Life and read to him. She loved her enemy. She fed the hungry. She spoke the truth without judging. She didn't seek revenge but rather turned the other cheek. She chose the path that led to life. Her actions were so Christ-like that when I first listened to her recount the events of this "hostage situation", I was amazed. It changed this man. He didn't want to hurt anyone else. He said that she was "an angel sent to him by God". He even said that God led him to her apartment so that he could hear the words she spoke. Amazing.

I think this woman answered the question, "What would Jesus do?" The question now, rather, is what would we have done?

This story is one that has inspired me. I hope it inspires you as well.