In the aftermath of any senseless act of violence, we cry out, “Why?” We feel more vulnerable in the communities we live in. We reach out for solutions that would prevent something similar from happening in the future. But most often, we are left without any real answers.
In my work with the incarcerated all over the country, I find myself in a unique position to get answers to the tough question of “why.” While visiting a prison I asked a group of men, all sentenced for murder, why they took another person’s life. All of them answered the same way: They didn’t see the victim as a person, but as an object that stood between them and what they wanted. They all agreed that if they would have rightfully recognized that victim’s human value, they never could have killed them.
It turns out that Scripture offers us a simple, time-tested antidote to this damaging perspective: “Love one another” (John 13:34); “value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:3); and “do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12).
When Judge Tom Kohl’s daughter was murdered, he took these words to heart. This Prison Fellowship® volunteer went to visit his daughter’s killer, explain the love of Jesus, and offer forgiveness. Judge Kohl’s testimony has helped many people behind bars to find forgiveness and peace with God. But that would never have happened unless he first recognized the God-given value in another person – even in the man who took his daughter’s life.
Jesus’ call to “remember the prisoner” goes hand in hand with this command to value one another. When we do, we naturally build the kind of communities we all want to live in.