Monday, March 14, 2005

Loving your enemy on "Today"

I found myself in tears this morning as I ate breakfast and watched the Today show. I'm used to watching people killing their enemies on TV but I'm not used to watching people love their enemy.

Matt Lauer interviewed Ashley Smith, a young woman, who was held hostage for nearly seven hours by Brian Nichols, the man who killed three people in an Atlanta coutroom a few days ago.
Seven hours after he took her hostage, Nichols let her go, and when she called 911 and the police showed up, he surrendered peacefully.

A Washington Post story gives a few details of her Smith's amazing ability to love her enemy.
When he first took her hostage she thought he was going to kill her. He did tie her up but the Post story says, "She said as the night wore on, she tried to win his trust."

When you choose to love your enemies you can build trust with them.

Eventually he untied her and she said on the Today show that she read him part of the Bible
and a section from chapter 33 of Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life.

Now that's loving your enemy.

"When morning came, Nichols was 'overwhelmed' when Smith made him pancakes, she said," according to the ''Post''.

When I heard a couple days ago that Nichols surrendered peacefully I wondered why he would surrender peacefully after having killed so many people.

Now I think I know why. He spent several hours with a follower of Jesus who knew how to love her enemy.