Loving the unlovely

Many times in the last few months I have picked out individuals from the sea of humanity that I encounter and thought, 'How were you involved in the civil war?  Which side were you on?  Did you see your life shattered or did you shatter so many lives?'.  I often wonder how much damage there is behind all those faces, what stories people have to tell.  People don't like to talk about the war here and so it is easy to focus on this poor but bustling country and be fooled into thinking that it has always been at peace.

The other day we went to see a new patient, a man with a huge malignant mass growing on the side of his face.  The visit continued as per usual and we found out that he was from Kono, an area in northern Sierra Leone where most of the diamond mines are situated.  Esther my translator is from the area so spent the visit talking to him in a local dialect.  We were asking him about returning home to be cared for by his family as his condition deteriorated.  He seemed reluctant to go.  As we talked into this further, Esther turned to me out of the blue and said that he had been an ex-combatant (what the rebels are now called) during the war and maybe this was why he did not want to return home.  As she continued speaking to him, what surprised me next was my reaction.  My view of him completely changed.  I went from seeing him as just a very sick man to recoiling in horror at his past.  In that moment I got a sense of clarity.  Countless times I have heard teaching on forgiveness and loving those that the rest of the world despises.  But I have never before been in a situation where what I know is the truth is tested against my human nature.  

I feel blessed that I have never had to forgive anyone for heinous crimes against myself and my family but that was the exact situation that Esther was put in.  As we left she told me that she recognised his name.  He was infamous in Kono as one of the rebel leaders, ordering and carrying out atrocities that we can barely imagine.  Esther's family home was burned down and her grandmother raped.  She had every right to be angry, to shout at him, to not want to see him again.  But instead she continued the visit, spoke to him with patience and gentleness in a way which astounded me.  She is a Christian and talks about forgiving what is passed.  This is so inspiring to me.

As Christians, we are called to love those people who are difficult or seemingly impossible to love.  The crux of our faith is love for one another and those who are not part of God's family.  God loved us so much that he gave his son for our sins.  So who are we to judge the sins of others?  I do not know whether this man has any faith, whether his fear of death is overwhelming because of all he has done.  Maybe I will get the chance to talk to him about this, maybe not.  But what I do know is that God has bought me to him for a purpose.  What that purpose is yet, I do not know and may never know.  But I do know that in the short time we have it is my privilege to be able to show him love and forgiveness as God has done to me.

I was lead to the following verse which struck me with its simplicity but I think sums up all that I have learnt in this time:    

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good"  Romans 12:21