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Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Winding Roads, Crooked Lines
She told the truth. But not the whole truth.
Ashley Smith's story seemed the perfect true-life illustration for an Easter sermon. And I told it.
She'd been taken hostage in her own apartment by Brian Nicols, who'd killed four people in cold blood the day before. When the initial terror subsided they settled in for the long haul. Over the hours they talked at length about life and death, bad decisions and eternal values. She even read to him from the religious best-seller The Purpose Driven Life -- which had actually transformed her own life. She'd become a Christian. Finally, Nicols let her leave the building. He must have known she'd call the cops. He just sat by himself until they came.
Did I mention the pancakes?
Ashley Smith cooked him pancakes in the middle of her ordeal. I believe he thanked her kindly. And then they continued their discussion of spiritual things.
Amazing, but true. And yet, not the whole truth.
Last week Ashley Smith went public with another piece of the truth. Which does complicate matters somewhat.
She confessed that, along with the pancakes, she fed Brian Nicols a helping of her methamphetamine stash. You see, she hadn't quite kicked that habit in her new life of faith. But now she's determined to tell us the rest of the story. Confession is good for the soul.
Do you suppose the drugs helped Nicols decide getting arrested wasn't such a bad idea after all? I imagine he wasn't very worried about a lot of things -- except maybe what to do with all that happy energy doing the two-step inside his skin.
You may be having second thoughts about Ashley Smith's spiritual sincerity.
I'm not. And here's why:
1. Christians are sinners. What makes grace "amazing" is that God forgives us instead of punishing us. Admitting our utter failure to measure up on our own is the first, basic, step out of death into life.
2. Christians are works in progress. We're on the journey of faith, traveling a long and winding road towards our spiritual home. Along the way, we learn about and grow into God's ways with the world. By trial and error.
3. Christians are accountable. We answer to God, to each other, to the whole wide world for everything we say and do. That's part of "not taking the Lord's name in vain." God's reputation is at stake in the way we behave -- or misbehave.
I wonder what prompted Ashley Smith to come clean now. Police interrogation? A subpoena? Counsel from her pastor? A plain old guilty conscience?
Whatever it was, she showed up and told us more of the truth. At last. God bless her for that. And God be with Brian Nicols as he pays for his crimes.
An old proverb says, "God writes straight with crooked lines." Beware of bending things in hopes that God will be good anyway. But give loud thanks that God doesn't need perfect people to get good things done!
posted by Jack Buckley at
10:26 AM
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