In the last few years both movies and musical versions of Victor Hugo’s novel “Les Miserables” have been watched by millions of people. They tell the story of Jean Valjean, a French prisoner, who had been sentenced to 19 years of hard labor for the crime of stealing bread. The injustice of the sentence and the harsh conditions of prison hardened him into a tough convict. After earning his release he found it almost impossible to find shelter and food as a convicted felon, however after searching for four days he was taken in by a kind bishop. That night, after the bishop had gone to sleep, Valjean got up and rummaged through the bishops cupboards and crept off into the night with the family silver.
The next morning three policemen knocked on the bishop’s door with the thief in tow. He had been caught while fleeing with the stolen goods and the police were ready to put the scoundrel in chains for life.
The bishop however responded in a way that no one, especially Jean Valjean had expected.
“So here you are!” he said to Valjean. “I’m delighted to see you. Had you forgotten that I gave you the candlesticks as well? They are silver like the rest?” By now Jean Valjean’s eyes stared at the old man with an expression no words could convey. The bishop assured the policemen that this man was no thief. “The silver was my gift to him.” After a while, the bishop handed the two candlesticks to Valjean who was now speechless and trembling and told him: “Do not forget, do not ever forget, that you have promised me to use the money to make yourself an honest man.”
Jean Valjean’s life was changed forever by the bishop’s act, which defied every human instinct for revenge. This encounter with grace and forgiveness, even before he had admitted his wrongdoing, melted the hardness of his soul. From this point on Jean Valjean dedicated himself to helping others in need.
What the bishop did serves as an example of God’s gift to us. By putting the punishment that we deserved on his own son, God shows us grace and forgiveness before we even had a chance to admit our wrongdoing. I invite you today, to put your trust in the one whose grace is truly amazing!
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