Forgiving those who hurt us, and above that showing them kindness, is not an easy thing to do. How can you show mercy to your aggressor? How can you be kind and compassionate to someone who treated you unfairly? Say a man committed a crime against you that is considered unforgivable. Would you show this man mercy? Or, like most people would, would you condemn him? Robert Rule, father of Amanda Rule, was faced with these questions when he was given the opportunity to address Gary Ridgeway, the man who cold-bloodedly murdered his daughter and 48 other women. He could have said many things to the monster that sat indifferent in front of him, but the words he chose were so powerful that they shattered Ridgeway’s nonchalant facade.
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Only after hearing Rule say that he forgave him, Gary Ridgeway broke into tears. The seemingly emotionless, barbaric killer was broken. The man that killed 49 women and showed no sign of remorse, was shattered in consequence of four simple words, “You are forgiven sir.”.
Robert Rule was able to have mercy on the man that murdered his daughter. He could have condemned Gary Ridgeway and wished terrible things for him and vented his anger like every other person had done, but chose not to do those things and that made all the difference. Rule said that he had to do what God said to do, so he forgave. This, however, could not have been easy for him. The reason Mr.Rule was able to show an abundant amount of mercy is because he understood that to do God’s will he had to forgive Gary Ridgeway the same way God had forgiven …show more content…
I do not know why Gary Ridgeway became a serial killer and cannot even begin to understand his mindset, but maybe in his life he had never been shown love or forgiveness. Maybe if someone had shown him mercy, like Robert Rule did, his life would have been different. Who knows, maybe he would not have become the monster that everyone sees him as.
The act of mercy that Robert Rule displayed should inspire us all to think about the way we treat others. Everyone has the power to impact another’s life either negatively or in a positive way. Before we act out of anger, we should all remember that the mercy we show to others is the mercy God will show to
Only after hearing Rule say that he forgave him, Gary Ridgeway broke into tears. The seemingly emotionless, barbaric killer was broken. The man that killed 49 women and showed no sign of remorse, was shattered in consequence of four simple words, “You are forgiven sir.”.
Robert Rule was able to have mercy on the man that murdered his daughter. He could have condemned Gary Ridgeway and wished terrible things for him and vented his anger like every other person had done, but chose not to do those things and that made all the difference. Rule said that he had to do what God said to do, so he forgave. This, however, could not have been easy for him. The reason Mr.Rule was able to show an abundant amount of mercy is because he understood that to do God’s will he had to forgive Gary Ridgeway the same way God had forgiven …show more content…
I do not know why Gary Ridgeway became a serial killer and cannot even begin to understand his mindset, but maybe in his life he had never been shown love or forgiveness. Maybe if someone had shown him mercy, like Robert Rule did, his life would have been different. Who knows, maybe he would not have become the monster that everyone sees him as.
The act of mercy that Robert Rule displayed should inspire us all to think about the way we treat others. Everyone has the power to impact another’s life either negatively or in a positive way. Before we act out of anger, we should all remember that the mercy we show to others is the mercy God will show to