He thought that he could hang around the community until he could put some money in his pocket and head south for Mexico, beyond the reach of Pat Garrett, according to Robert M. Utley in his book Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life. Meanwhile, from newspapers brought to him by his friends, Billy likely followed the media accounts of his breakout from the Lincoln jail. Undoubtedly, he realized that he had fired public interest. From New York to San Francisco, “people waited in fascinated suspense to learn whether the fearless young killer would remain at large,” according to Utley. While criminal and murderous instincts lay at his core, Billy also had a certain raffish charisma, particularly among the Hispanics, whose language he spoke fluently.īilly surely knew, too, that the governor of New Mexico had put a price on his head. He had not only challenged the authorities, he had scorned danger, mocked death and charmed local daughters. He starred at village fandangos or bailes, where he danced to the polkas, waltzes and schottisches performed by the mariachis playing violins and the traditional convex-back guitars. He knew that many of the Hispanics thought of him as a folk hero. Only the second photo ever authenticated of Billy the Kid, this photo is a tintype that was owned at one point by the estate of Pat Garrett. The lives of its tenants are reduced to one goal: make someone miserable.It came to light in Las Cruces, NM, and was verified as Billy the Kid (right) and his friend Dan Dedrick (left) in October of 2013. No wonder God insists that we “keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time” (Hebrews 12:15). He moves us forward by healing our past.Ĭan He really? This mess? This history of sexual abuse? This raw anger at the father who left my mother? This seething disgust I feel every time I think of the one who treated me like yesterday’s trash? Can God heal this ancient hurt in my heart? His healing includes a move out of the house of spite, a shift away from the cramped world of grudge and toward spacious ways of grace, away from hardness and toward forgiveness. You never outlive the memory of ten brothers giving you the heave-ho. So he gave them a taste of their own medicine.
When he saw them in the breadline, he snapped at them. He accused them of treachery and threw them in jail. Isn’t it good to know that Joseph was human? The guy was so good it hurt. He endured slavery, succeeded in a foreign land, mastered a new language, and resisted sexual seductions. He was the model prisoner and the perfect counselor to the king.
We expect him to see his brothers and declare, “Father, forgive them, for they knew not what they did” (see Luke 23:34). He didn’t because forgiving jerks is the hardest trick in the bag. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice (Ephesians 4:31)?Īs Christ forgave you, so you also must do (Colossians 3:13)? Why, we’ll memorize the book of Leviticus if God says to do so.ĭon’t let the sun go down while you are still angry (Ephesians 4:26)? We will feed the poor and counsel the king. I have a friend who was six years old when her mother ran off with a salesman, leaving her to be raised by a good-hearted dad who knew nothing about dolls, dresses, or dates. The father and daughter stumbled through life and made the best of it. Recently the mom reappeared, like a brother out of Canaan, requested a coffee date with my friend, and said, “I’m sorry for abandoning you.” The mom wants to reenter her daughter’s world. My friend’s first thought was, That’s it? I’m supposed to forgive you? Seems too easy. How do we reconcile the pain of the daughter with God’s command to forgive?ĭoesn’t the mom need to experience what she gave? A few years wondering if she will see her daughter again. Isn’t some vengeance in order? Of course it is. In fact, God cares about justice more than we do.
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