For about four hours over the weekend, Colombian President Gustavo Petro defied President Trump by refusing to accept two plane loads of illegal immigrants Trump sent back to Colombia.
Trump threatened stiff tariffs on imports, sanctions on Colombian government officials, and he also threatened to seize Colombian bank accounts in the United States. After some embarrassing posts on social media, Petro caved even offered to send his presidential plane to pick up the migrants.
Townhall’s Sarah Arnold has the details here.
To save time, perhaps we should fit the deportees with parachutes and let them skydive back home.
THE VALUE OF A PARDON
There has been plenty of commentary about pardons lately. But I was reminded of a true story I heard years ago in church that is both puzzling, illustrative of a spiritual truth.
On December 6, 1829, George Wilson and James Porter, robbed a United States mail carrier in Pennsylvania.
Both men were arrested, tried and convicted. On May 1, 1830 both men were found guilty of six indictments which included robbery of the mail “and putting the life of the driver in jeopardy.” On May 27th both men were sentenced to death by hanging.
On July 2nd, Porter was hanged but Wilson was not. He had some influential friends who pleaded for mercy to the President Andrew Jackson and Wilson received a formal Pardon commuting his sentence to 20 years in prison for his crimes.
According to court documents George Wilson chose to: “… waive and decline any advantage or protection which might be supposed to arise from the pardon referred to.”
Unexplainably, Wilson rejected the pardon.
No one had ever rejected a Presidential pardon before so the case went back to the courts and eventually to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Attorney-General made the argument: “The court cannot give the prisoner the benefit of the pardon, unless he claims the benefit of it.”
The Court concurred. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, “A pardon is an act of grace, proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws . . . (But) delivery is not completed without acceptance. It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered, and . . . we have no power in a court to force it on him.”
In other words, a pardon is a piece of paper, the value of it is determined by the recipient. George Wilson was given a choice: life or death and he chose death.
Like Wilson, every person is facing a death sentence because of sin. But John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Because Jesus took the form of sinful man in order to physically die in our place and 3 days later rose to life again, he offers a pardon from our death sentence and the gift of eternal life. But this pardon is only appropriated to the person who repents of their sin and receives the pardon by faith.
Who in their right mind would reject eternal life? Sadly, most people will do what George Wilson did and decline the offer.
Don’t be George Wilson. Pray and accept God’s pardon today.
