When you don't want to do the Christian thing

The other day I began thinking again about a guy I talked to about a month ago. His name is Paul Casola and you may have heard about him when his wife, sons, sister-in-law, and niece were run down in the parking lot of a McDonald's. I tried getting in touch with him a day or so after it happened, but understandably, his calls were being screened somewhat by the music minister at his church.

The result of the attack was the death of Paul's two-year-old niece and hospitalization of everyone else. I later wrote an update on everyone. Paul's the pastor at Passion Community Church, and you can understand the eyes on him and his reaction to all of this, which was one of a guy who said all the right things, but you could tell was fighting anger at the perpetrator. When I finally interviewed him, I had absolutely no way to break the ice. Saying I know how he felt would've been a lie. Saying I'm sorry didn't seem to be enough.

What came to my mind was I think went through all fathers' minds when they heard the story the first time. Oh, would I love to have 15 minutes in a room with the guy who did it. The purpose wouldn't be to witness, either. No one would blame Paul if he would have handed the guy a tract just before plowing him through a wall, then maybe handing another tract to him.

When I hear my wife or daughter cry, I first determine if I'm the cause of it or if(in my daughter's case) she's just being a three-year-old. If those two turn out negative, I morph into this upset papa bear that must punish whatever caused their pain until it's pain is returned at least threefold. (A practice I will adhere to when Rylee is a teenager is that if a boy makes her cry, I must see to it that said boy cries as well.). This policy has resulted in our cat, Sasha, making a 15-foot unexpected air trip into the front yard when she scratched Rylee once. They do land on their feet all the time, by the way.

This is one of those internal struggles I deal with as a follower of Christ. My desire to see justice can sometimes overshadow the need for mercy and grace. I need the latter two on a daily basis from my father in heaven. I should be more willing to extend that same grace to others. As a husband and and daddy, though, I will stick more to that role of protector.