A man drove a woman to the abortuary to murder her baby. He dropped the woman off and then drove his car out of the abortuary parking lot. As he came out of the driveway, I tried to plead with the man to go back inside and get the woman -- to do what he could to stop the abortion.
The man challenged me to fight, opening his front passenger door from inside the car into my leg. He tried to bait me to get into the car and drive down the street where we would fight. I closed the door and told the man I had no intention of fighting with him.
The man exited his car and assaulted me, slapping me in the face, hitting me in the head, and repeatedly trying to kick me. He grabbed my "Babies Are Murdered Here .com" sign from my hand, damaged it, and took it. In California, this constitutes a strong-armed robbery.
Don called LAPD. Several minutes later, they arrived and subsequently went into the abortion clinic to talk to the man. Minutes later, they walked out of the clinic with my sign, but not with the man who assaulted me.
The officers, who were very professional, left it up to me as to whether or not I wanted the man arrested for robbery and assault. I chose to extend grace and mercy to the man. After all, I have received far more grace and mercy in my life than I showed this violent, hateful man, today.
The car left Don and drove down the street in my direction. It was the man who assaulted me. The man smiled and waved as he drove by. I simply said, "I forgive you."
Don would later tell me that the man, whose name is Scott, told him that he was sorry for getting so angry and for hitting me and taking my sign. Scott also asserted..... he is against abortion. Well, Scott has a strange way of showing his support for the unborn -- driving a woman to the place where she would murder her baby and then assaulting a man who was trying to do what he should have done.
And there was a war within my own heart. The deputy sheriff in me wanted to take the guy down--hard--and use whatever force necessary to overcome his resistance. The prideful man in me want him to go to jail--to go back to prison where he had spent time a few years ago. But my spirit was unsettled with both of those legitimate options.
The decisions I made today I cannot prescribe to anyone else who may one day find themselves in a similar situation. I cannot say to anyone, if they ever find themselves in the same set of circumstances, that they should say what I said, or do what I did, or resolve the situation in the manner I chose to resolve it.
The man who assaulted and robbed me did not deserve to walk away without consequences (grace). Instead, he did not receive what he deserved for his crime--arrest, prosecution, and confinement (mercy). The man may never truly appreciate the gifts he received, today. Or maybe the Lord will use what happened today to bring conviction of sin upon his heart. Either way, I know what the man received, today. And I thank God for the grace and mercy He showed an angry, hateful sinful, ex-con this morning. It served as a very good reminder to this sinful man how much and how often God has extended His grace and mercy to me.
Believers and unbelievers alike will critique what I said and did this morning. Some have already said I should have had the man arrested. Others think my "Babies Are Murdered Here .com" sign was a provocation. Others think I handled the situation well. But no one has heard the audio of the incident, until now.
Here's the audio.
Listen for yourself. Draw your own conclusions. But I will not be deterred. I am an abortion abolitionist. I will be back at that clinic next Tuesday with the same sign, making the same pleas, hoping to save one life, wanting to get the gospel to as many people as I can.
