A Story on Forgiveness

I thought I was done with my quota of thoughts for the week, but then I read this book . . . thoughts of which are strewn about in my mind, calling to be written out in order to process what I have actually read.

Think No Evil is the story about the tragic Amish Schoolhouse shooting in a peaceful Lancaster village a few years ago. Jonas Beiler and Shawn Smucker draw the reader into the everyday life of the Amish culture and faith, a faith that remains firm in the most tragic of circumstances. It is a story of such startling contrasts that one can't help but be impacted by it.

On October 2, 2006 Charles Roberts followed through on his pre-meditated plan to board up an Amish schoolhouse, tie up the girls and shoot them one by one before killing himself. It was an act done by a man who'd never been wronged by these people nor had he shown any kind of malice toward them, prior to this event. He was a family man who loved his wife and children.

The only hint at his motive was left in a note wherein he described the hate and emptiness he had experienced ever since the death of his baby girl.

The profound irony in this story lies in the fact that it was an unforgiving and bitter heart that led a man to do something that brought out the best in the people affected. Although the Amish are not a people who seek recognition for anything, their desire was that people would understand the reason for their hope and forgiveness. A heart decision not only to forgive, but to reach out to the widow and her children.

Could it be that in offering forgiveness and friendship, these people came to see a pain beyond their own as they entrusted themselves to a God who judges fairly and comforts those in need?

We live in a world where we feel the need to pay back evil for evil, not realizing that it can hold us in a trap of emotional anguish. In contrast, in the pages of this book we see the lasting strength and benefits in choosing to forgive.