I just saw the TV special about David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam serial killer. Mr. Berkowitz says that he has accepted Jesus as his savior and has repented of his many sins. I know, I know... another jail-house conversion! But the key word here is conversion. Many a muderer or rapist has confessed belief in Jesus after being caught and sentenced to prison. But how many of them really changed? How many were truly converted? After seeing this TV interview and reading about Mr. Berkowitz further, I see that it has been 23 years since he confessed his faith in Jesus and there really has been a change. He is a different man.
Some people have a hard time believing that God can (or is even willing) to forgive someone who has been so evil and caused so much pain. I understand completely the difficulty the families of his victims have in believing that he has changed. I understand their reluctance to believe that he has truly repented and given his life to Jesus. I even understand the unbeliever who cannot see how God could possibly forgive and love such a man. Many a prisoner has confessed belief in Jesus to escape the death penalty. It seems awfully convenient to drop the name of Jesus when you're facing death.
But I believe that God forgives anyone who comes to him in faith and humbles himself and repents. I believe it because the Bible says it and because I myself have been forgiven of more than I would want made known publicly. I've never murdered anyone or raped anyone or molested anyone, but I have done things that I am so ashamed of that I can't even bring myself to think about them. I dare say that most of us, if we were completely honest, would say the same. We Christians are just a bunch of horrible sinners who are overcome by the miracle of God's love, mercy and grace. We have been forgiven much and therefore, we love him much. I am glad that God can forgive David Berkowitz and change him and make something useful out of him. I am glad that God is bigger than any sin I could ever commit. I'm glad that God is willing to hear the prayer of repentance and the desperate cries for help coming from the most despicable sinner that has ever lived.
Yes, I know that many (if not most) of these prison confessions of faith in Jesus are bogus. But when you see that change.... that change that only God can make in a person, how can you not believe? And how can you not be happy; happy that a soul has been saved and happy that God has proved the boundlessness of his love once again? Yes they deserve the life sentences they are serving and I'm not saying we should let them out of prison. There are consequences to our actions and we must pay for what we have done. But to see the willingness of God to forgive and heal and change broken lives makes me happy and gives me great peace! We were all sinners and we all needed God's forgiveness and mercy. It took just as much of Jesus' blood to wash away your sins as it did to wash away David Berkowitz's sins!
Some people have a hard time believing that God can (or is even willing) to forgive someone who has been so evil and caused so much pain. I understand completely the difficulty the families of his victims have in believing that he has changed. I understand their reluctance to believe that he has truly repented and given his life to Jesus. I even understand the unbeliever who cannot see how God could possibly forgive and love such a man. Many a prisoner has confessed belief in Jesus to escape the death penalty. It seems awfully convenient to drop the name of Jesus when you're facing death.
But I believe that God forgives anyone who comes to him in faith and humbles himself and repents. I believe it because the Bible says it and because I myself have been forgiven of more than I would want made known publicly. I've never murdered anyone or raped anyone or molested anyone, but I have done things that I am so ashamed of that I can't even bring myself to think about them. I dare say that most of us, if we were completely honest, would say the same. We Christians are just a bunch of horrible sinners who are overcome by the miracle of God's love, mercy and grace. We have been forgiven much and therefore, we love him much. I am glad that God can forgive David Berkowitz and change him and make something useful out of him. I am glad that God is bigger than any sin I could ever commit. I'm glad that God is willing to hear the prayer of repentance and the desperate cries for help coming from the most despicable sinner that has ever lived.
Yes, I know that many (if not most) of these prison confessions of faith in Jesus are bogus. But when you see that change.... that change that only God can make in a person, how can you not believe? And how can you not be happy; happy that a soul has been saved and happy that God has proved the boundlessness of his love once again? Yes they deserve the life sentences they are serving and I'm not saying we should let them out of prison. There are consequences to our actions and we must pay for what we have done. But to see the willingness of God to forgive and heal and change broken lives makes me happy and gives me great peace! We were all sinners and we all needed God's forgiveness and mercy. It took just as much of Jesus' blood to wash away your sins as it did to wash away David Berkowitz's sins!
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