Think Again and Be Glad

After raping and murdering at least 28 young women and girls, Ted Bundy was executed on January 24, 1989.

Not long afterwards, we sat around a TV set up in their kitchen. I was a youth pastor for a house church near the university I attended in Kansas. We were doing something different that day. Instead of our usual Bible discussion, we were going to watch a provocative video - Ted Bundy confessing his faith in Christ just hours before his final breath. This was part of what he wanted to share with James Dobson (read the interview for yourself: http://www.pureintimacy.org/gr/intimacy/understanding/a0000082.cfm).

As we watched, we came to the part where Bundy referred to his newly professed faith in Jesus Christ, which gave him assurance of God's forgiveness, and confidence in being welcomed into heaven. Some of our house church members scoffed.

A discussion ensued after the video. The talk was not about some biblical allusion or about the dark road onto which sexual sin lures its victims. That would have been a good discussion.

We talked the whole morning about whether or not we believed his confession of sin and his acceptance of Christ was sincere enough to really warrant salvation - in particular, heaven.

The underlying issue was clear: some in our group were not too happy that Ted Bundy was going to potentially be on the welcoming committee when they arrive in heaven someday.

This lack of comfort with undeserving people receiving unwarranted and elaborate measures of grace was an issue Jesus faced in his ministry. He addressed it with a story about a landowner who hired workers at different times of the day, and at the end of the day, paid them all the same amount (Mt. 20:1-16). The workers who only put in an hour were, of course, elated with the landowner's generosity. But the workers who worked all day were ticked off, to say the least!

This parable has been rightfully applied as a lesson on God's grace for may circumstances, including God's forgiveness of tax collectors and sinners of many kinds, and God's welcoming of Gentiles into his Grace.

But I see this story's drama taking place regularly. There is a part of us that isn't too happy when somebody we can't stand "gets" the whole grace of God thing. Why? Because we want to see them pay for their sin.

Some people "get" the whole Jesus/Grace of God thing earlier than later. Others don't seem interested in getting it until they are nearing their last breath. The comment I hear most often from those who got it early, in response to those getting it late, goes something like this: "It just doesn't seem fair that they got to live it up and do all the fun stuff, and then get let off the hook, while I've been faithful all this time, going to church, not doing all that stuff they got to do."

The implication is that the partier got away with something, and the early believer somehow got the raw end of the deal.

Sometimes this happens in marriages. One spouse will "get" the principles of a healthy relationship and being living accordingly, but gets mad that their spouse gets to still get away with bad behavior.

But maybe we need to think again.

Ted Bundy wasn't exactly a happy camper during his horror-inflicting years. He was miserable, trying to satisfy a deep-seated emptiness by stealing the life of others.

The workers in the parable who got to work from the first round of hiring spent the day knowing that they were going to get paid when the day was over. That meant they knew they were going to feed their families that night. They were going to have peace that day, because they got to work earlier than later.

And those who seemingly got away with "the high life" before coming to Jesus will be the first to tell you that those years were empty without a relationship with God. Partying, self-centered living - these prior ways of life just simply do not compare to the depth of meaning and quality of existence found only through faith.

And how about husbands or wives who don't get the principles that lead to marriage? Rather than get angry, feel sorry for them, because they are unwittingly blinded and shackled by whatever lesser understanding of marriage they're living under. Their quality of life stinks - it has to - because their level of intimacy cannot be too deep with shallow principles.

So, as you journey through life, when you are tempted to cry "injustice" when a serial-rapist/murderer gets to go to heaven, think again, and mourn that that person, for whatever number of reasons, missed life, and caused others to miss it as well. And be glad, because that same eternal reservoir of grace that provided for Ted Bundy is going to still be flowing for you someday, even though somebody somewhere will probably be cursing the fact that you got in...

When you see somebody get it late in life, don't get indignant, be humbled by the sad reality that it took so long. And be glad that they finally got it, because now they can experience life in a way that is richer and deeper and more meaningful and more world-redeeming that ever before.

When someone you love doesn't get it, but you do, pray for their awakening instead of judging them. Mourn that they are settling for a joy that pales in comparison to that which Christ brings. And be glad that you have awakened to God's incredible grace and love for you and the whole world, and has given you the privilege of loving someone in healthy ways.

May you be slow to judge God and others. May you reflect on the obvious blessing you have, instead of focusing on what you think is someone else's special deal. May you view everything through the lens of God's grace, that you may help more and more people get it and live in it, that they may think again, and be glad.