A Christian Reflects on Shattered Shalom at Va Tech |TODAY|

Submitted by dan. on 2007-04-26 20:46.
Offender Support | Public Education | Victim Support

The end point of justice is not punishment. It is restoration. Were Cho alive, I would pray for his repentance, I would pray for his turning to Christ, I would pray for his soul. I would pray that the hands that killed would somehow be transformed into hands that bring blessing. But Cho is gone. Our creeds tell us, Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead. We do not know the day or the hour, but Cho’s judgment date (along with ours) is set.

But that still leaves me with one final question. What does restorative justice look like when a killer is gone? I believe it looks like coming alongside the grieving and the angry in compassion, and through our prayers asking God to enable miracles of true forgiveness. While we don’t shift the blame from Cho, the tragedy also highlights other areas of failure: in university safety, in mental health response, and other areas which will surface. We work to fix what is broken. Finally, we renew our resolve to reach out to the hurting, to care for the emotionally wounded, and to point all people to the very real need for a Savior.

Read it all.