Crime and Forgiveness
John Fischer

Jim Van Tassel died last week. He was 96. This is sad news to a number of people who are or have been in jail in Orange County, California. Jim has been a chaplain there for thirty years. A former prisoner told me, “He showed me the compassion of Christ for the first time in my life… He never was particularly interested in hearing about my crime or how it happened; he just wanted me to know I could be forgiven and have a whole new life -- both of which seemed impossible at that time.”

I think we all could benefit from Mr. Van Tassel's perspective. We often are more interested in the crime than the forgiveness. Gossip grows from this. Gossip is all about the crime and an opportunity to tell it to lots of people. Gossip is sometimes even disguised as a prayer request, as in: “Would you please pray for so and so, he really needs it. Why just yesterday I heard…” You can see where this is going.

Or how about the testimony that focuses more attention on the crime than the forgiveness? Some people have made a decent living off their testimony and the opportunities they have to tell it. I can remember being somewhat embarrassed by my testimony because it wasn’t a juicy enough story. Of course I since have realized my crime was just as heinous as the worst criminal's, it was just in the form of private sins I didn't want anyone knowing about. This is another danger in focusing on the crime; it encourages all kinds of unwanted comparisons. Not to mention those who feel their sins are so bad they are beyond forgiveness.

When the real point to emphasize is that we have all have been forgiven. We are equally guilty and our stories are all remarkable.

Even as I write this, I catch myself realizing I could justify mentioning the crime of the woman who told me about Jim Van Tassel. It would make an impact. It was enough to get her nine years. But, you know, it doesn't matter. What matters is that she is forgiven, and she has a new life in Christ. That's how we want to think of her anyway.

And that's the case for everyone who has life in Christ. The forgiveness and the new life are the big issues. It's not about who we were or what we did; it's about who we are now and what we are doing as a result.

Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; the new life has begun!
2 Corinthians 5:17

PDL