Handling Muggers

We had a very scary and troubling week, as one of our young family members got 'mugged.' Fortunately, after suffering a vicious kick to the head in the midst of the inexcusable assault/robbery, the youngster appears to be recovering.

For us adults, it provided an object lesson in mercy and forgiveness--Jesus style. After the immediate health concerns of the attack appeared to be stabilizing, we turned our attention to discussing the perpetrators, still unaccounted for. Admittedly, there were (still are?) some protective and indignant suggestions concerning "what we'd like to do if we got our hands on those heartless thugs..."
And how satisfying it would be to give them a piece of our mind. At the very least, the thought of "prosecution to the full extent of the law..." should they be caught, was unanimously--and enthusiastically savored.
Up to that point, the line between "justified, righteous indignation" and "resentment and condemnation" was blurred--at best. Pretty natural under the circumstances. But then, realizing a sense of the supernatural--the Holy Spirit of God--we also started talking about the hearts and lives of the attackers.
No one made any excuses for them - their violent actions were categorically inexcusable. They aren't victims, our family member is the victim. But what could possibly lead someone to be that thoughtless, callous and cold? They left the scene before knowing whether their young victim was simply unconscious--or dead.
What do you do with a generation of young people who don't seem to care about the lives of those they hurt? Do you find ways to cut them off from civilized society, bury them in prisons, compartmentalize them in separate neighborhoods, track them with electronic hardware?
I only came up with one sure answer. And I got this from a guy who had plenty of reason to be indignant over the treatment he received from the bullies of his day. His name is Jesus, and he tells this parable:
Mat 13:24
"The kingdom of heaven is compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men slept, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went his way. When the wheat had sprung up and had produced fruit, then the weeds also appeared.
So the servants of the householder came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then where have the weeds come from?
He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Then do you want us to go and gather them up?
But he said, No, lest while you gather up the weeds you also root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest."
There were three attackers in the assault. Right now they are clearly weeds among the wheat. Or...might even one of the three still be reachable by the power of God's love? Is there a struggling grain of wheat that might get pulled out of the soil if we simply rip out, toss and burn handfuls of other weeds?
First, let's catch them, try them and get them in jail where they belong--that's fair justice for my family member. But let's also give prison ministries--volunteers who ask nothing of taxpayers except freedom of speech--access to these same clumps of weeds, on the chance that God can still rescue a few healthy grains of wheat. Wheat that could bear fruit back in our communities if the true Gospel takes hold in a repentant heart.
Today, after my prayer for healthy recovery and healing of our family - I also pray for the hearts of the offenders, that God will heal what is broken in them and lead them to the Light--through the love of Jesus, our Savior. Otherwise they may have a destiny no different than weeds headed for the trash heap.
And consider this--if we'd be allowed to share the Gospel more freely on this side of prison walls; in schools, at universities, maybe depicted more fairly in movies and TV shows...maybe we'd nip more weeds in the bud.
What do you believe?