God's loving kindness

On this Good Friday, I read this story in the news:

With the noose around his neck, Iranian killer pardoned by victim’s mother Parents choose to spare convicted murderer moments before he was to be hanged (BY TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF April 17, 2014, 10:48 pm)

The execution of an Iranian man convicted of murder was called off only moments before his hanging was set to take place, after the mother of the killer’s victim requested a pardon.

Balal Abdullah was sentenced to death after he stabbed Abdollah Hosseinzadeh, who was 17 at the time, to death during a street fight in the town of Royan seven years ago. 

Abdullah, 24, was scheduled to be hanged on Tuesday in the city of Nowshah. As the noose was tightened around Abdullah’s neck, Hosseinzadeh’s mother approached the convicted killer and announced that she had chosen to forgive him. Hosseinzadeh’s father untied the noose a short while later. Abdullah’s own mother ran up to Hosseinzadeh’s mother and hugged her. The two proceeded to weep in each other’s arms.

Hosseinzadeh’s father stated that he and his spouse had decided to pardon the young Abdullah following a dream his wife had, in which their son begged them them not to avenge his death. “Three days ago my wife saw my elder son in a dream telling her that they are in a good place, and for her not to retaliate,” he said. ”This calmed my wife and we decided to think more until the day of the execution.”

Despite his pardon, Abdullah will most probably remain in prison. According to a literal interpretation of Sharia law, the parents of a murder victim may take part in the hanging of the killer by kicking the chair out from under his feet. On the other hand, the parents may choose to spare the convict’s life. 

Someone wrote in response to this story that this is the chesed ... Loving kindness. It made me tear up remembering on this Good Friday of the chesed of God, his loving kindness. It made me tear up thinking of the two mothers in this story hugging each other, weeping in each other's arms. One had lost a son to crime, and was only asking for justice. The other was losing her son to justice. The grief, the pain, of both.

Like Balal Abdullah, the wages of my sin is death. For God's justice and holiness demands that the guilty one be punished. For justice had to be done. But my Father God in his loving kindness chose to spare me from death. Instead, his Son Jesus took my place, dying for my sins, paying the penalty for me, to buy my pardon.

'Surely he has borne our griefs
 And carried our sorrows
 Yet we esteemed him stricken
 Smitten by God, and afflicted.
 But he was wounded for our transgressions
 He was bruised for our iniquities
 The chastisement of our peace was upon him
 And by his stripes we are healed.
 All we like sheep have gone astray
 We have turned, every one, to his own way,
And The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Here's a great video on his Amazing Love.