The Pardon
In 1830, George Wilson killed a government employee who caught him in the act of robbing the mail. He was tried and sentenced to be hanged. However, then President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, sent him a pardon. But Wilson did a strange thing. He refused to accept the pardon and no one seemed to know what to do.
So the case was carried to the Supreme Court. The great Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the opinion. In it, he said, “A pardon is a slip of paper, the value of which is determined by the acceptance of the person to be pardoned. If it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be hanged.”
And he was.
Pretty sad. To have been given such a gift of forgiveness and to refuse it. It doesn’t make sense, does it?
But refusing a pardon is common practice. You might be reading this from your own death row prison cell. We are all moving quickly towards the end of our lives. Because we turned away from God to live for and please ourselves, we have cut ourselves off from our only life-giving source and stand condemned for eternity. But, God has intervened and through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, we are granted a full pardon. Based on Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, all we have to do is receive His offered pardon. Simply turn away from your self-sufficiency and turn to Jesus.
George Wilson was foolish. But when you think about it, had he not been hanged in 1830, he still would have died a long time ago. Death was inevitable for him, as for us. Even more important for him than accepting President Jackson’s pardon, was accepting God’s. His existence since then and for all eternity was and is based on how he responded to God’s offered forgiveness.
You also need a pardon. God has granted it to you. But as Chief Justice Marshall declared, “If it is refused, it is no pardon.” Only here, it’s not just your life that’s at stake. It’s your eternal destiny!
“This is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. So whoever has God’s Son has life; whoever does not have His Son does not have life.”
– 1 John 5:11,12