Because Jesus-Love Is Always The Answer

An explosion.

Another.

And a nation, a world, a society explodes and hearts everywhere shatter into a million pieces, because any age is devastating, but 8-years-old? That's too soon.

They hunt for a few days, and a society watches, captivated.

And they bring in a boy only three years older than me.

And 19-years-old? That's also too soon.

This. This is how a Christ-follower needs to respond. [This link is a must-read.]

Because me, 19-year-old Dzhokar and 8-year-old Martin, all three of us are just kids born into this terrible crazy world. 

And us image-bearers are failing hard. Because when a 19-year-old boy knows nothing better than to drop a bomb and kill a 8-year-old, we've failed them both.

We've failed to show them a God who cherishes peace. We've failed to bear the image of the Prince of Peace. 

And sometimes, failures don't get second chances. With Martin, we don't get a second chance. 

How's it feel to be robbed of a second chance?

But in our failure with Dzhokhar, we get one. We get a second chance and what are we gonna do with it? Rob him of his? 

No, no. We can't.

Here's why: We're all recipients of second chances. 

What he did - it absolutely was not okay. It makes me sick to my stomach. Yes - he needs to serve a hard punishment. But more importantly - he needs to learn peace. 

He needs to be shown peace.

And I can't hate Dzhokhar.

I can't hate him because we're pretty much the same: Sinners, yet infinitely valuable children of the Most High, created in His image.

And I can't hate him because then I would be forced to hate me. And every other person on this earth.

I can't hate him because Jesus still loves him and I want to be like Jesus.

And so we can't kill him. Because of something as simple as an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Because of something as simple as he's just like you and me - loved, known, cherished and relentlessly pursued by the King.

If you're grieving - if you're Martin's family or a person now missing a limb or someone like me looking on horrified - I understand why you could hate Dzhokhar. 

An explosion went off in your life, but an explosion went off in Dzhokhar's too.

All our worlds, they explode daily, and we all just try to heal and pull our way back.

And if we still believe in hope for ourselves -

we have no choice but to believe in hope for Dzhokhar too.