Virginia Tech & Grace - Part II

There was a comment on Pastor Dino's post about the Virginia Tech shootings that really answered the question that I really already knew the answer to:

"And, yes, I believe the church, which is God's idea, would and should be the first to reach out to one of God's children even when they have destroyed lives-
for even they are redeemable...
How many lives do we destroy every day-by our words, our lifestyle, our actions or in-actions towards one another-We just don't make the national news...
But, God is watching... His eyes go to and fro - just to find one...
My heart cries out to all..."

The obvious answer is that God would redeem the shooter, just as he redeemed Moses, who killed the Egyptian and David, who murdered Uriah and had the affair with Bathsheba.

The next question is, are we at the place where we can apply God's grace ourselves? Reminds me of my post, "Too Much Information." Where I quoted Watchman Nee saying, " All knowledge is the outgrowth of obedience; everything else is just information."

We have the information that we are to forgive, but do we have the knowledge, which is shown by our obedience? How do we put away our anger, bitterness and hurt to forgive others, as we have been forgiven?

To me, this is a spiritual maturity indicator. If we choose to obey and forgive, instead of waiting for justice or payback or waiting for the "feeling" of forgiveness to come, that puts us on a new level in our spiritual walk. That is what others can look at to see Christ working through us.