Is everyone deserving of redemption, or is it reserved for those who truly repent, and if so who decides?

In the last few weeks I posted blogs about ‘Kim’, a 50 year old woman, known to me, who was viciously assaulted while out for a walk in her Whitby Ontario neighbourhood. Severely beaten and left for dead she was found 12 hours after her disappearance and remains in hospital with critical injuries. Her attacker was arrested 2 days ago, a 21 year old man, unknown to her. I can’t imagine what could possibly incite so much rage in a young man to inflict such pain upon another, a stranger, but he did.

Motivation aside, you can’t help but wonder what was in his head after the attack, when word of it was all over the media. Remorse? Regret? The thrill of remaining ‘on the loose’? He was apprehended in Ottawa so he clearly felt the need to ‘get out of Dodge’. And yet only 7 days ago he made a donation to her Gofundme drive and posted the following comment

Anthony Doiron-Francis donated $300

Its so horrible what happened! I pray she makes a full recovery!

Wow. How sick is that! Clearly this individual is seriously disturbed and it’s hard not to feel something akin to sympathy for such a tortured mind. On the other hand, his actions have destroyed an innocent life and the lives of family and friends who may never recover from the horror. The mother, sister, friend, in me wants retaliation because she didn’t deserve this. The Christian, humanitarian, sane person, in me knows retaliation is not the answer because violence begets violence, and everyone deserves redemption, even this monster. I just can’t imagine being the one to grant it.

I pray our dear Kimmy survives this. The road will be long and at times, unbearable, but she has a devoted and loving family, friends that will support her, and a community to offer encouragement. I just hope it’s enough. Jesus,,,,,,,,,,,,, what kind of world do we live in.