The 22-year-old daughter...
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The 22-year-old daughter of Bob and Goldie Bristol was raped and killed. Such things
happen too often. Although it's horrifying, it's not out of the ordinary. What was different
about the whole painful experience is that Bob and Goldie were finally allowed to visit
her killer in prison; and when they did, they forgave him.
Goldie wrote a book, When It's Hard to Forgive. She reported their daughter's death and their visiting and forgiving the murderer. They recalled speaking at meetings about the experience, and they were surprised how often people were hostile to them, frequently attacking them as unfeeling and accusing them of betraying their daughter's worth and memory. People accused them of being unloving and naive in approaching society's problems.
Only some sort of "vision" of God's glory such as Stephen saw can lead to forgiving such as Stephen did.
Goldie wrote a book, When It's Hard to Forgive. She reported their daughter's death and their visiting and forgiving the murderer. They recalled speaking at meetings about the experience, and they were surprised how often people were hostile to them, frequently attacking them as unfeeling and accusing them of betraying their daughter's worth and memory. People accused them of being unloving and naive in approaching society's problems.
Only some sort of "vision" of God's glory such as Stephen saw can lead to forgiving such as Stephen did.
