The U.S. Constitution grants the president the power to pardon those whom he feels are deserving leniency for federal crimes they allegedly committed.
Such broad powers to exonerate someone should be used prudently. This country has never seen this executive privilege used so vicariously as President Joe Biden has done for the benefit of his own child and family.
But I understand that his action appears to follow the letter of the law of the land, and I can certainly live with his action.
In drafting our Constitution and the Bill of Rights, our forefathers relied heavily on principles found in Scripture.
They were certainly aware of the account in Genesis in which Abraham obediently took his son, Isaac, up Mount Moriah to sacrifice him before his Lord.
Fortunately, the Lord provided a ram as an appropriate sacrifice just in the nick of time.
Isaac certainly had done nothing to warrant his father’s actions, but he obediently was prepared to be that sacrifice if that was God’s will.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus of Nazareth was sentenced to death by His own people. He had done nothing to deserve death by crucifixion.
In fact, God’s Word tells us He lived a sinless life, yet He willingly died for our sake.
God could have pardoned (saved) Him, but He knew His Only Son must die for our sin. Jesus came to this earth for this singular purpose of heavenly compassion.
These early statesmen knew about such unselfish compassion and had lived under the rule of the king of England long enough.
The natural tendency of the human race is to protect those near to us — even to the extent of blindly covering the lies of our past.
This particular act of compassion may one day be exposed for the devious deeds of the family’s past dealings. But let’s wisely leave this in the hands of our Heavenly Father. He is quite capable of passing judgment on all for their mischievous and selfish acts.
All I know is this: The Constitution’s broad power of pardoning was designed to allow the president to look back at cases of injustice that warranted correction.
There are no limitations and I suspect we may well see this compassionate action taken frequently over the term of our next president.
Let’s hope he uses it prudently. We’ve seen much corruption and injustice in this country in recent years.
Now let’s get back to the most compassionate act of all. God knew that His Son would have to suffer an agonizing death in order to pay the ultimate price of the sins of humankind (past, present and future).
In fact, what He has done is given all a pardon, if we will simply accept his terms.
We must recognize that we are sinners in need of a Savior.
We must repent of our sins, humbly ask Him to forgive us of all we have done against Him, turn from our wicked ways and do our best to serve Him this day forward.
There’s a beautiful life available to all and this present world pales in comparison. Give your life up to the Lord and you’ll be forever thankful for His wonderful pardon and provision.
He is the One Who truly pardons and totally forgives!