The Four Questions…

[RND]

*The Four Questions…

1.) What if I told you that your youngest child was murdered? Would you want mercy or justice for the perpetrator?

2.) What if I told you that the murderer was your oldest child? Would you want mercy or justice for the perpetrator?

3.) What if I told you that you are guilty of the murder of the only begotten Son of God? Would you want mercy or justice as the perpetrator?

4.) What if I told you that you had a daughter, your only daughter, the apple of your eye, who has never given you a moment’s grief. Tonight, you have your tux hanging in the closet, because tomorrow you are scheduled to walk your daughter down the aisle and give her away to someone whom you approve? If you’re the mother, you have your new dress hanging next to the gown that you have been planning and preparing for since the first time she held her in her arms. But tonight, your daughter is at a bachelorette party with her peers and they talk her into having “one-for-the-road,†the first ever in her life. Two, three, four, five, six, seven (drinks) later, while on her way home, she wipes out a school bus full of little children on their way to camp. Everybody aboard the bus dies in a fiery inferno, but you daughter survives. Do you want mercy or justice for your daughter? What do those that are related to those who were on bus want?

The moral of the story is…

The carnal heart has an ingrained sense of justice as long as it doesn’t apply to them or theirs. That is self-righteousness and hypocrisy! Furthermore, Satan knows that God will only forgive us according to our willingness to forgive others. The irony of the whole thing is – “we’re all family.â€

As we have received God’s mercy – so are we to bestow the same mercy towards others. “Freely you have received, freely give.†We can hate the sin, but we must love the sinner for “we war not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities in high places.â€

*From my buddy Keith Johnson that got me involved in prison ministry. Asked of all the new arrivals to our classes.

 

[glorydaz]

Great post, RND. Thanks for sharing.

 

[RND]

Thanks glorydaz. I'll let my buddy know.

 

[ChevyRodeo]

These are the kinds of posts I like! I made a similar one once.

You are the police commissioner of NYC. A man has two hostages each hooked up to bombs. He has two detonators on him and a machine gun. He is legitimate and skilled.

If you raid the area, he kills the hostages.The hostages are ex felons on rape/murder charges. the hostage(s) is a 60 year old man that has done is time in jail but is now free.

You cannot take him down by any means such as sniper because of his unique location and arrangement with the hostages. He only has one demand; the statue of liberty must be evacuated and bombed to ruins within 5 hours.


Summing it up, in a theoretical black and white scenario, would you blow up the statue of liberty for the life of one or two hostages that are former criminals

 

[follower of Christ]

4.) What if I told you that you had a daughter, your only daughter, the apple of your eye, who has never given you a moment’s grief. Tonight, you have your tux hanging in the closet, because tomorrow you are scheduled to walk your daughter down the aisle and give her away to someone whom you approve? If you’re the mother, you have your new dress hanging next to the gown that you have been planning and preparing for since the first time she held her in her arms. But tonight, your daughter is at a bachelorette party with her peers and they talk her into having “one-for-the-road,†the first ever in her life. Two, three, four, five, six, seven (drinks) later, while on her way home, she wipes out a school bus full of little children on their way to camp. Everybody aboard the bus dies in a fiery inferno, but you daughter survives. Do you want mercy or justice for your daughter? What do those that are related to those who were on bus want?

Im sort of going thru this type of thing presently.
My daughter from my first marriage is doing things she shouldnt be doing.
She was calling me for a while trying to get me on her side, but just like I told her and my family...If she was any other person on earth I would hold her accountable and I'll will NOT sit back and judge one person who is breaking the law and living so sinfully who I dont know and then let my child off because they are my offspring.
I love my daughter but she gets no special concessions. If she is wrong, she is wrong and I wont pretend like shes right.
Currently shes done a couple things that could land her in jail.
I realize this sounds bad but I turned her in myself a few weeks ago. I called the Sheriffs dept directly, gave them her name and information and what she was doing.
I hate that I had to do it. And Im regretful that shes put me in that position, but Im not going to ignore someone breaking the law and putting other people in danger, even if its my own child.

It probably sounds heartless that Id turn in my own daughter. So be it. But I just feel if shes going to break the law like she is and has complete disregard for everyone else, that maybe jail is where she belongs for now until she learns a lesson.

I realize this probably wasnt the point of the thread. And I do believe that we MUST make judgments sometimes in this life.
Showing mercy does not mean turning a blind eye to evil and injustice.

.

 

[RND]

4.) What if I told you that you had a daughter, your only daughter, the apple of your eye, who has never given you a moment’s grief. Tonight, you have your tux hanging in the closet, because tomorrow you are scheduled to walk your daughter down the aisle and give her away to someone whom you approve? If you’re the mother, you have your new dress hanging next to the gown that you have been planning and preparing for since the first time she held her in her arms. But tonight, your daughter is at a bachelorette party with her peers and they talk her into having “one-for-the-road,†the first ever in her life. Two, three, four, five, six, seven (drinks) later, while on her way home, she wipes out a school bus full of little children on their way to camp. Everybody aboard the bus dies in a fiery inferno, but you daughter survives. Do you want mercy or justice for your daughter? What do those that are related to those who were on bus want?

Im sort of going thru this type of thing presently.
My daughter from my first marriage is doing things she shouldnt be doing.
She was calling me for a while trying to get me on her side, but just like I told her and my family...If she was any other person on earth I would hold her accountable and I'll will NOT sit back and judge one person who is breaking the law and living so sinfully who I dont know and then let my child off because they are my offspring.
I love my daughter but she gets no special concessions. If she is wrong, she is wrong and I wont pretend like shes right.
Currently shes done a couple things that could land her in jail.
I realize this sounds bad but I turned her in myself a few weeks ago. I called the Sheriffs dept directly, gave them her name and information and what she was doing.
I hate that I had to do it. And Im regretful that shes put me in that position, but Im not going to ignore someone breaking the law and putting other people in danger, even if its my own child.

It probably sounds heartless that Id turn in my own daughter. So be it. But I just feel if shes going to break the law like she is and has complete disregard for everyone else, that maybe jail is where she belongs for now until she learns a lesson.

I realize this probably wasnt the point of the thread. And I do believe that we MUST make judgments sometimes in this life.
Showing mercy does not mean turning a blind eye to evil and injustice.

.

Sorry to hear about the situation you find yourself in. The point of the 4 questions is for one to examine the level of mercy they are both ready to receive and to give. Sometimes, as in the example of the flood, it was more merciful for God to execute justice He had to in order to give more people the opportunity to choose Him and His form of government. Delivering compassionate mercy to others that reflects the mercy offered by the Lord is not in direct conflict with offering temporary punishment.

The question has to be answered that if God forgives the one that murders through repentance and the victim's family doesn't what is that to say about them and their understanding of mercy?

 

[whirlwind]

*The Four Questions…

1.) What if I told you that your youngest child was murdered? Would you want mercy or justice for the perpetrator?

2.) What if I told you that the murderer was your oldest child? Would you want mercy or justice for the perpetrator?

3.) What if I told you that you are guilty of the murder of the only begotten Son of God? Would you want mercy or justice as the perpetrator?

4.) What if I told you that you had a daughter, your only daughter, the apple of your eye, who has never given you a moment’s grief. Tonight, you have your tux hanging in the closet, because tomorrow you are scheduled to walk your daughter down the aisle and give her away to someone whom you approve? If you’re the mother, you have your new dress hanging next to the gown that you have been planning and preparing for since the first time she held her in her arms. But tonight, your daughter is at a bachelorette party with her peers and they talk her into having “one-for-the-road,†the first ever in her life. Two, three, four, five, six, seven (drinks) later, while on her way home, she wipes out a school bus full of little children on their way to camp. Everybody aboard the bus dies in a fiery inferno, but you daughter survives. Do you want mercy or justice for your daughter? What do those that are related to those who were on bus want?

The moral of the story is…

The carnal heart has an ingrained sense of justice as long as it doesn’t apply to them or theirs. That is self-righteousness and hypocrisy! Furthermore, Satan knows that God will only forgive us according to our willingness to forgive others. The irony of the whole thing is – “we’re all family.â€

As we have received God’s mercy – so are we to bestow the same mercy towards others. “Freely you have received, freely give.†We can hate the sin, but we must love the sinner for “we war not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities in high places.â€

*From my buddy Keith Johnson that got me involved in prison ministry. Asked of all the new arrivals to our classes.

RND....This is a very thought provoking thread. I'm not sure my head likes the answers my heart gives.

 

[glorydaz]

Im sort of going thru this type of thing presently.
My daughter from my first marriage is doing things she shouldnt be doing.
She was calling me for a while trying to get me on her side, but just like I told her and my family...If she was any other person on earth I would hold her accountable and I'll will NOT sit back and judge one person who is breaking the law and living so sinfully who I dont know and then let my child off because they are my offspring.
I love my daughter but she gets no special concessions. If she is wrong, she is wrong and I wont pretend like shes right.
Currently shes done a couple things that could land her in jail.
I realize this sounds bad but I turned her in myself a few weeks ago. I called the Sheriffs dept directly, gave them her name and information and what she was doing.
I hate that I had to do it. And Im regretful that shes put me in that position, but Im not going to ignore someone breaking the law and putting other people in danger, even if its my own child.

It probably sounds heartless that Id turn in my own daughter. So be it. But I just feel if shes going to break the law like she is and has complete disregard for everyone else, that maybe jail is where she belongs for now until she learns a lesson.

I realize this probably wasnt the point of the thread. And I do believe that we MUST make judgments sometimes in this life.
Showing mercy does not mean turning a blind eye to evil and injustice.

.

It doesn't sound heartless to me. My daughter went through a terrible time. She was drinking and driving with her baby in tow. She'd call from a phone booth and I'd call the police...they never caught her. I turned her in to DHS, but they kept letting her skate. After she ended up in the ER with a .48 alcohol reading, DHS made her take some classes, but she didn't really slow down. I had to go to the courts and take custody of the baby. I honestly didn't think she'd make it, but the Lord answered my prayers. She had no choice but to get clean and sober if she wanted to get her child back, and I wouldn't agree to visitation unless she did. It was a long year and a half of treatment, UA's, high fines and long hours of work, but she did it. She's been clean and sober for three years, and she is a wonderful mother...expecting another baby this summer. It took her awhile before she stopped hating me, but now she is thankful that I did what I did. We are closer than ever and we both give the Lord the glory.
Hang in there, dad. The Lord can do incredible things when you stand firm in the right way, instead of taking the easy way.

 

[JudaicChristian]

The moral of the story is…

The carnal heart has an ingrained sense of justice as long as it doesn’t apply to them or theirs. That is self-righteousness and hypocrisy! Furthermore, Satan knows that God will only forgive us according to our willingness to forgive others. The irony of the whole thing is – “we’re all family.â€

As we have received God’s mercy – so are we to bestow the same mercy towards others. “Freely you have received, freely give.†We can hate the sin, but we must love the sinner for “we war not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities in high places.â€

*From my buddy Keith Johnson that got me involved in prison ministry. Asked of all the new arrivals to our classes.

Self-rightousness is very much a sin, but very few people ever pay any attention to that fact. Good story line RND. MTAA