Amazing grace for all to see
It is a rare day that the cover of the Daily Telegraph speaks a truth so profound, but today is that day. ‘Amazing grace’, the headline reads and a photo of a mother who on Monday farewelled three of her precious children.
You may have heard of Leila Abdallah or seen the news coverage and witnessed their Maronite Christian community’s response to the loss of Anthony, Angelina, Sienna and their cousin in a senseless accident at the hands of an alleged drunk driver.
What stands out to me is the family’s response. In a statement parents Danny and Leila say -
“What is life without your children? How and where do we begin to pick up the pieces so that we may be effective parents to our three remaining angels?
“We start with forgiveness.
“We forgive the driver that killed our innocent children. His actions will be met before the earthly and heavenly judge. We have decided, in our hearts to forgive him – for the sake of our children and more so for Christ’s sake.”
This is faith in action. Some in my congregation have wondered aloud would they make the same statement with such conviction if they were in a similar circumstance? All I know is that in moments like these you can see what is at the heart of a person. And that this family are powerfully testifying to the grace they know so deeply in their own lives.
I have also heard some people wonder aloud ‘how could God let this happen?’ But if you ask Danny and Leila, I would guess that they would point you to another question. Did Jesus promise that if you follow him that life would be easy? Simply, no.
This is of great importance in our work at Wesley Mission. If we believed that life would be easy when you became a Christian, the lives and experiences of so many that we walk alongside would throw our faith into crisis. But instead we look to the example Jesus gave, living as a servant to all, a life that ultimately led him to the cross.
Jesus says in John 16,
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
He knows our pain and through his resurrection we know his life. And this is how we know we have received him – that in our world where we see and experience tragedy, hope breaks through – even on the worst day imaginable.
And so we pray for the Abdallah family and their community, and we also give thanks to God for them, that they have displayed something so truly confounding that it demands the cover of our newspapers. Amazing grace.
Images and cover The Daily Telegraph
