The Gospel in Charleston… that may not have been the title you expected.
You were probably expecting something more like, Travesty in Charleston, or Evil Murders 9 in SC, or Church Shooting Rocks Nation. In reality, what is rocking a lot of people is the response the members of the church have had to the shooting.
South Carolina has a law allowing victims to confront the person who committed a crime against them. Various members of the church, where Dylan Storm Roof sat for about an hour before opening fire and killing 9, offered forgiveness at their very first opportunity, his bail hearing. They said things like:
You took something very precious away from me,” said Nadine Collier, daughter of 70-year-old Ethel Lance, her voice rising in anguish. “I will never talk to her ever again. I will never be able to hold her again. But I forgive you. And have mercy on your soul.”
What people are shocked by is how these people can freely offer forgiveness to a young man who took so much from them. The answer, while simple, is not easy. They understand they are forgiven by Christ. They understand that while their sins may not be as public or seem as abominable as Dylann’s sins of racism and murder, they are still sinners in need of a Savior.
The question I ask you to consider today is who do you need to forgive? Is there someone in your life you have judged to be the greater sinner and therefore undeserving of your forgiveness? Forgiveness is up to you. View your forgiveness of them in light of Christ’s forgiveness of you.