Saturday of the first week of Lent

Just the facts, ma'am!

Recognize the guys above? From the old TV show Dragnet we have Sgt. Joe Friday (Jack Webb) on the right and Officer Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan) on the left. When interviewing witnesses, Sgt. Friday would often say, "All we want are the facts, ma'am" or sometimes, "All we know are the facts, ma'am." Just the facts...

This is from Graham Greene's The Heart of the Matter:

Scobie said sharply, "Don't talk nonsense, dear. We'd forgive most things if we knew the facts."

One needn't be familiar with the context of Greene quote to understand its significance. Too often we judge others harshly and rashly with little knowledge of the facts or perhaps none at all.

We have all known moments when others have judged us without understanding why we have acted or failed to act in a particular way - times when "If they only knew..." becomes our earnest prayer.

I'm not arguing here for a situational ethic... I'm simply grateful that in every instance God, whose forgiveness is most important, knows all the facts...

P.S. God asks us to forgive one another as we are forgiven by God...

-ConcordPastor