Justice & Mercy

One day I stood by the edge of a raging river. Barely audible over the roar of the water I heard a faint cry for help. Looking up, I saw someone in the water, rushing towards me. With just enough time to act, I grabbed a tree branch, leaned out over the water, and grabbed the person by the wrist as they went under. Another bystander happened along and and helped me pull the victim from the frigid water.

Just as we did, we heard a faint cry for help.

Someone else was bobbing through the rough water towards us. Working together, my new friend and I quickly pulled the hapless person from the torrent.

And as we did, we heard another cry for help.

This went on for hours. There were many of us now, pulling people from the water as fast as we could. Two or three times I could have sworn that we pulled the same person out more than once, but I may have been mistaken.

Here's the point. Pulling these people from the water was an act of mercy. It is critical work; it saves lives. However, it did not become a quest for justice until a number of us left our spot on the shore and went upstream to see who was throwing them in.

Comments

[Mac]

Outstanding start.

[bobbie]

oh that warms my storyteller heart! LOVE IT!