Curious Christian

Ealier today it was reported that Robert Black Farmer has been found guilty of the brutal attack on northmead girl, Lauren Huxley, in which she was beaten, doused in petrol and left for dead in her garage, which Farmer then set alight.

Asked if he had a message for Farmer after the trial, Mr Huxley replied: “Go burn in hell, with petrol, where you belong you bastard.”

Now, over and above my sympathy for this local family and the revulsion I feel at what we humans can do to another, what struck me here was how, in the face of monstorous injustice, people suddenly discover the relevance of hell and divine judgement.

This sudden relevance becomes even more acute where justice in this life proves elusive, where perpetrators go free and escape even secular judgement. Just pause for a moment and recall how often that happens. Imagine a world where there was no consequence for injustice, where all you could say to the father was, “that was just a learning experience Farmer had to go through in his spiritual journey.” Does that not pile horror on top of horror? This is not an abstract concept we are talking about. Don’t just think, feel.

Hell says there is a court beyond these courts.

Now of course, many of you would challenge this, asking, what about the self perpetuating nature of vengence, the ultimate emptiness of revenge and our call to forgive? This is an importance question, yes. The Kingdom of God cannot come through retribution, I agree. That’s why the apostles didn’t stop there in their teaching. But the key to understanding is recognizing that forgiveness always comes with a cost, a cost to the forgiver. To forgive means, not to deny injustice was done, but to take the consequences of injustice onto oneself, to sit with it; and for the relationship, in that process, to be transformed.

This is the ultimate why behind the crucifixion. To save us from hell, to save humanity from the consequences of its own injustice, God went through hell himself. We live in the shadow of that.

So, while accepting this father’s cry for justice, complete justice, I also pray that one day he can find the peace that comes, not through justice, but through reconciliation. But its a tough call, for I know that involves coming to grips with a very personal hell. What I am suggesting here though is that to deny hell is to deny his hell.