Fogiviness Shown With A Stone
Kelly White should great courage and understanding when she took her two kids to the semicircle of memorials on the campus of Virginia Tech. This is where people have come to mourn with each other exactly like the fence line memorial in Oklahoma City. A difference in this though is that Kelly brought 32 tulips, and a spare one to lay on the stone for Seung-Hui Cho.
When asked why she did this to the stone that belongs to the one who took so many lives she responded…
“Forgiveness is part of being freed from anger. I try to teach my children that God loves everyone.”
Now we have to give credit where credit is due. There was another girl who took a giant leap on to a really little limb. And she was Senior Katelynn L. Johnson who added a 33 rd stone for Cho. Johnson said she told almost no one about the stone because she feared a backlash.
Without the stone in place no one would have thought about Cho unless to think what should have been done with him. Virginia Tech is just be awesome beyond belief with this. Many people are talking about like a family member who just never found the right way. They speak of his trouble and then of how they would have liked to help him to get though them.
They thing I keep thinking about though is the stone we land down. We were responsible for have a huge stone rolled of a guy’s tomb that I know personally. If that stone had never been set up then forgiveness would never been available. Most people who talk to me about this subject(Va.Tech) don’t like the next part of what I am about to say. I hope that before he killed himself, that Cho last thought were of God, and asking for forgivness. Most people I know are not happy with that statement but it is how I feel. I believe it is how God feels.
No sin Cho every committed is worse than any sin I have ever committed. Both have the exact same amount of forgiviness to them. The white lie of ” Honey answer the phone and tell her I am not here,” is a lie that is punishable by the same hell that a man who kills 33 people could be in. The only way to get out of that future is to ask to be forgiven. It will be given. The point is that while I am still yet angered by what Cho did I understand that there is a bigger picture, and in that bigger picture I am just has guilty and sinful as Cho could have every been. He is no worse than I am.
While I can see your point in terms of the ETERNAL consequences and/or equality of varying degrees of sin, I simply have to take exception to the last sentence in your post:
“He is no worse than I am.”
I couldn’t disagree more, friend. Asking your wife to tell a caller you’re not home is in no way, shape, or form even in the same ballpark as what Cho did. Why? Because Cho’s sin involved the actual destruction of 32 other lives, all of whom had loved ones that will suffer at least to some extent for the rest of their days. What if by killing all those people - many of whom I’m sure were non-believers - Cho robbed them of any future opportunity for their own salvation? If you truly believe salvation only comes through Christ, then anyone who was killed before accepting Christ is lost, no? In any case, while as believers we can mourn the potential loss of Cho’s soul, as human beings we cannot discount what happens here on earth. I, for one, don’t view life as simply a staging ground for eternity. I enjoy our mortal existence, and people like Cho, unfortunately, only make the planet a darker place as a whole. I’m sorry, but Cho was worse than you.
Just my opinion, of course…
Comment by
Hermann the Malevolent — 4/27/2007 @ 12:06 pm
I respect that and understand that. I should have been more specific. I agree that the lost were the most tradgic of this event. I was talking more of the very nature that we all have. The thing that really seperates us from Cho is the fact that we don’t act on things we always think.
This was not his first sin. Being able to accomplish an evil act of this size can only come from sin that has grown over time. The little white lies will soon turn into bigger lies. The getting angry at the slow driver and passing him on a one lane street is the start of reckless driving. People don’t tend to just up and hold up a bank. Their courage to sin and the planning of sin is display of sin that has been lived for a time. When we become hard clay we cannot be worked with by God. Cho had a problem with sin long before this. I just wish that he would have nipped it long ago and this would have never happened. My whole point was that people are wicked in their heart. Just acting on those impulses is the start Cho, or Hitler, or others who commit huge acts hate and destruction on others.
I do believe that all are capable of theses sins. We are all worthy of hell. WI fully understand your point here too. The seperation between us and Cho is seeing what our sins are and understanding where they lead us. We stive to not sin instead of living in it. Thanks for reading this post and leaving your opinion it is valued.
Comment by
Travis — 4/29/2007 @ 12:14 am
I think you’re still missing my point somewhat, Travis. While I can agree that little white lies can open the door to something that may be a bit more serious if not nipped in the bud, it’s the peripheral damage that separates these “little” sins, if you will, from what Cho did. Again, I’m arguing that Cho’s killing spree may have resulted in the loss of many other souls for all eternity. I have no way of knowing this, of course, but the odds are that not everyone he killed was saved, no? Therefore, while Hitler may be burning for all eternity right next to some guy who simply told his wife to tell a telemarketer he wasn’t home, the fact that Hitler likely brought thousands of people to hell WITH him makes him a much, much, much worse person than the little white liar. The eternal punishment may be the same, as you’ve argued, but the crime most CERTAINLY is not. There is simply no way I can justify the argument that someone like Hitler is on par with, say, a jaywalker. Such talk trivializes the magnitude of evil deeds that have genuine, profound impacts on the lives of others. I’d bet any money that the 6 million Jews who suffered and died at Hitler’s hands might just disagree with you. See what I’m sayin’?
Comment by
Hermann the Malevolent — 4/29/2007 @ 6:36 pm
Yes I see and I do not down play the lives that were lost. The thought that so many people lost their and lives and sadly enough more than likely there were several of those kids lost and now facing hell. I completely agree.
However I am simply saying that I deserve the same thing that a killer deserves. I deserve hell but thank God for His grace. My whole point is that we are all capable of those sins. If we chose to kill some one then we could. It is in everyone. We all have the ability to do what these Cho did. The only thing that stops us is us saying no.
The little sins will lead to more sin. Will most people kill some one? No! But they have it in them. It is a matter of saying I want to follow God. Our hearts are sinful from our youth. It is the things that lead up to the more serious and impacting sins.
In a justice system then no. Hitler does not compare to a jaywalker. By no means would I say give a jaywalker the same time as Hitler or Cho would have gotten. However on the eternal level (which is where the topic was relating to), sin is sin. Yes they both took many people to hell with them. However if Hitler or Cho would have accepted Christ before they died (nothing indicates they did) but if they had then they would not be in hell. That is what I was trying to say. Sin is sin. Big or small. Law is not the same. I see you point completely. We are all held accountable for what we do. On that note we all have the chance at forgiveness. That is where I was going with “He ios no worse than I am.” I deserve the same fate that He is more than likey facing. I feel for the lost and I pray for them. I also prayed for Cho. I understand that he did somehting that I would not do but I am capable of what he did. I fully believe that everyone is able to do the same amount of destruction if not more.
I do understand your point though. I hope that you see mine. Which is that I believe we all deserve hell. We are not worthy of God’s love but that is where God amazes me in that He loves me and forgives me anyway. The way He would have forgiven Cho or Hitler if they only chose to believe and accept Jesus.
Comment by
Travis — 4/30/2007 @ 1:27 am
Liked photos…
Thank You!!!!…
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