“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
The subject of capital punishment has always terrified me. Without making a political or moral argument, I will just say that I would not want to be responsible for making a decision whether or not another man should live or die. There was a scene in the movie “Lincoln” that captured the weight of such a decision. The President is seen up late at night reading an appeal on behalf of a deserter who had been sentenced to death. Lincoln is giving his full attention to the matter while others in the room are sleepy and uninterested. What a dreadful task it must have been to have the fate of these young men in your hands! History tells us that Lincoln was very generous with his use of presidential pardons. “If a man had more than one life,” he commented regarding one such case, “I think a little hanging would not hurt… but after he is once dead we cannot bring him back, no matter how sorry we may be; so the boy shall be pardoned.”
All of us have but one life, and after that we face eternal judgment. What is worse is that the charges against us are such that there can only be one possible verdict (cf. Rom 6:23). President Lincoln searched for ways to pardon the accused and many times did so, but even he was faced with cases in which a pardon could not be justified. And that would have been our fate as well, if we were forced to face eternal judgment without Jesus. But God also longs to pardon us, and he has made it possible through the atoning work of Jesus on the cross.
How many people would have received Lincoln’s presidential pardon – but did not, because there was no one to bring their case before him? Too many, I am sure. Although access to the President was much simpler in those days, it would have required quite a bit of work and perhaps a bit of luck to get one’s case before the President. When it comes to the forgiveness of sins, access to the King is the easy part. God is ready to hear and ready to forgive at all times and in all places. The work for us is getting this message out to those who have not heard. There are many in the world who remain unaware of the forgiveness of sins through Jesus. This is why we continue to work and pray together. This is why we give and go for as long as God permits.
In February we were able to pay all of our missionaries 100 percent of their target allowance. We used $34,380 from the General Fund to meet these needs, leaving a General Fund balance of $133,991 at the end of February. Our Benefits Fund carried a balance of $92,350. Thank you for your on-going support!
Very well put! What tragedy when someone pardoned dies never knowing – never appropriating that pardon. 🙁 I thank God for your work, Jeff, and all the WMPL staff and missionaries who publish the pardon far and wide.