While we are still sinful creatures, God gave his only begotten Son for us, for all of creation. Indeed, God did not send the Son to the world to condemn it, but in order that it might be saved through him. This is my point; I do not believe that God loves the world in spite of itself. I do not believe that spite has any place in God’s perfect love.
Last Thursday, Darryl Littlejohn was formally charged in the brutal murder of 24-year-old Imette St. Guillen in Brooklyn. The horrid nature of her death made headlines. In an interview with Littlejohn’s mother, she told reporters that she loves her son. She did not try to say he was innocent. She did not try to apologize for what happened to St. Guillen. She did not try to explain away the crime. She said nothing about the crime. Instead, she simply said she loves her son.
This must have been difficult. This is such a heinous crime. It might have been tempting to say “my son could not have done this.” With such a shocking crime, the family of Miss St. Guillen might have hoped for condemnation of Mr. Littlejohn by everyone—including his mother. But Mrs. Littlejohn did not say she loves her son in spite of what he is accused of doing, but because of who he is—her son. This crime has nothing to do with her love of her son. His sins, his transgressions do not change her love for her child.
I do not want to offend our sensibilities and compare our lives to that of an arraigned murder suspect. It is tempting to thank God that none of us has ever been so depraved that we would even consider such a dreadful deed. It is tempting to take solace in the thought that we are not “that bad.” But I want us to consider this from a different perspective. Don’t consider the crime of the son, but the love of the mother.
Our Heavenly Father loves us in the way Littlejohn’s mother loves him. A love which exists not despite who we are, but because of who we are, sons and daughters. Even in our most atrocious humanity, God does not forsake us.
This rings with me this morning. May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
I read this yesterday and had to think about it before replying. One (I am sure there are more) advantage of not "being" God is not having to love unconditionally. When I had a particularly lousy job to do my mother, or one of the nuns at school, would say "think of St. Theresa, the Little Flower, scrubbbing floors while her tubercular back screamed...think of Jesus hanging on the cross...what have YOU have to bellyache about! Offer it up!"
ReplyDeleteI got pretty tired of the Little Flower...
Anyway, good for the criminal's mom. She is (obviously) a better person that I am.
And, BTW, I am glad that you reported this story. You too, obviously, are a Good Guy.