Like many people I was surprised to hear the Philadelphia Eagles had signed Michael Vick after being out of prison for 3 months. I was sure he WOULD end up being signed but I thought it would take more time for it to happen.
I'm an animal lover and I was horrified when I read the news of the dogfighting ring that Vick ran. I tried to look at the pictures that accompanied the stories when they were first released but couldn't bring myself to. Hurting animals is just something I can't process. I'll never understand the mindset of someone who does that or who condones it.
People are angry that the Eagles have signed Vick. Some are angry because they feel he hasn't been punished enough. But he served his time in jail and has been released. He's supposed to be working with the national Humane Society to help spread the word that dogfighting is wrong.
I saw a few clips over the weekend that showed angry football fans and animal lovers who said they couldn't forgive Vick for what he'd done. It made me wonder how many of those people are Christians.
Love and forgiveness are the core elements of our faith. Christ tells his disciples in Mark 11:25-26 that if they are praying and realize they have something against someone they're to forgive that person. We must forgive others if we're to ask forgiveness from God.
Yes, Michael Vick's behavior was outrageous. Yes, he deserved to be punished. Now that he has been and has told the world he's remorseful and realizes what he did was wrong we must believe him. We make a similar request of God every time we repent and return to Him.
If we don't believe in redemption and in rehabilitation then no one who goes to jail for anything should ever be let out.
Christ also told us the 2nd greatest commandment was to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. That includes Michael Vick. We must do the work within ourselves to forgive him, and If we call ourselves Christians we must work towards forgiving our neighbors. This is probably our greatest challenge as people of faith.
Who are you having trouble forgiving and what can you do to move towards forgiveness?
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