Acting like a servant

Today's issue of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution carries an amazing front page story. It's an interview with Ashley Smith, Brian Nichols hostage. She spent the last hours with Nichols leading up to his arrest for killing a Superior Court judge and others in an Atlanta courthouse last week.

The article reads in part,

Smith asks if he would mind if she reads.

Nichols says OK. She gets the book she'd been reading, "The Purpose Driven Life." It is a book that offers daily guidance. She picks up where she had left off — the first paragraph of the 33rd chapter.

"We serve God by serving others. The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige and position. If you can demand service from others you've arrived. In our self serving culture with its me first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept."

He stops her and asks her to read that again.

The time Nichols spent with Smith, does not atone for the crimes he committed. Yet, Smith's godly compassion for Nichols did stop his killing spree and bring him into police custody with no further violence. As Nichols told his hostage, "You're an angel sent from God to me."

The article is here, but you will have to register with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to read it. Registering is free. There are related articles I feel like I met him for a reason and Hostage's courage praised.