Watching all the hype and news coverage over the Troy Davis death sentence has been very emotional for me. I'm torn between the feelings of the family of the man that was murdered and what God would have done to Troy Davis.
Since Danielle was murdered I can speak first hand to this issue and watching it from the outside looking in, I can't help but wonder what the son of the man that was murdered is feeling right now. Troy Davis robbed him of his father for his entire life, as he was only 7 months old when his father was murdered. I only hope the child can forgive Troy Davis so that he doesn't suffer the fate of harboring ill will for his entire life. That wouldn't be justice at all.
If you believe in the New Testament of the Bible then you have to believe that Jesus died for all of our sins equally. Not just the little ones or the ones we believe to be forgivable sins. This would include any broken Commandment, right? Thou shalt not lie, Thou shalt not covet, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill...this puts the cheaters, liars, thieves, jealous people and killers in the same class. If you believe in Jesus then you have to believe we all can be forgiven of our sins if we ask. When Jesus died for our sins, it means He died for all of them not just the ones that are socially acceptable to the world we live in.
Arguments support that God said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, therefore we gave birth to if you kill someone we can kill you (the death sentence). I have to say that until I was a true Christian I did agree with the death sentence. However, now I believe God is the only one that can truly pass judgment on our sins. We will all be judged according to His word on the day of our passing.
This is when I think more and more of what we were asked to do by God, and that was to forgive others as we want to be forgiven and not to judge others as we will be judged as we judged others. Don't get me wrong, I believe that all of us that commit illegal behavior should be punished appropriately, however, I do also believe God never meant for us to take another life regardless of what they have done.
My husband once told me something very wise, he said "Honey, if you believe that God has a plan for your life and would forgive you of any sin you commit, don't you believe that God had the same intentions for the boy that took Danielle's life?" That made me really reconsider how I felt about Darryl (Danielle's Murderer). I felt pity for him, I prayed that he would be affected by prayer and his heart would be softened so that the word of God would be able to enter his life and he would be able to do good works in the life he will have behind bars. I did forgive him and if I can, everyone should be able to.
Back to Troy Davis, I believe that if he has asked God for forgiveness, then we should also forgive him as well. If he has been saved then I believe he will go to heaven and answer for his crimes and be shown how his errors affected so many lives. This will be punishment enough...I trust my God to be Just! How about you?
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I can't even begin to equate to what you've been through but there was someone who wronged me greatly and hurt me deeply to the point that I WANTED to die and almost did. Whenever I feel bitterness about him or that situation creeping in, I start praying for him. I don't mean that in a light, sarcastic or cheesy way. I really beg God to bless this man. I pray for his health, his current relationship, his children, his job, etc. And I find that the more I pray for him, the less power he seems to have over me. I truly feel that in those moments I see him with the compassion of Christ. I'm not comfortable with the death penalty. Just like with abortion. I feel like it takes power that we're not wise enough to use. *hugs*
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