The Parable of the President
by Christopher Hendrix
President Biden announced an unprecedented pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, several days ago. After repeatedly claiming he would not interfere with the justice process of his son, he decided to initiate the pardoning process. Layers of issues arise from this action by the President. Issues such as his abuse of power with a sweeping pardon go beyond the actual crimes to his morality regarding his lying to the American people. These issues include the misuse of the pardon and its original intention in the constitution. What stands out above everything else is his justification for his action. His foundational principle for doing this is a father’s love.
But is this love? Is it genuinely loving for a father to release his child from crimes committed? A biblical worldview says that this act isn’t love, but hate. Proverbs 13:24 teaches that a father who spares the rod hates his son, but the one who disciplines loves him. This context occurs in a father-to-child situation, but the principle carries over. To save a son from the punishment he deserves isn’t love but hate. Saving him allows injustice to rule the land and the son’s heart. Saving him enables him to continue his wickedness, destroying himself and others around him. Most of all, keeping him enables further lawlessness in the land. Even worse, as president, his actions taught other fathers how to view justice and their sons. His actions will lead to others hating their sons. The potential consequences of this shift in perspective on justice and discipline are dire, as it could lead to a breakdown of the justice system and an increase in lawlessness in society.
Someone might ask, what about mercy? Didn’t the Father show us mercy? Here, at Christmas time, we see the love of the Father on display. At the announcement of Jesus’ virginal conception to Mary, the angel declared several attributes about Christ. He was great! John the Baptist was great before God, but Jesus is great because He is God. He is called the Son of the Most High and the Son of God. He is also a king who rules on the long-forsaken throne of David, but unlike David and his sons, Jesus’s kingdom lasts forever. The Father exalted his Son and loved him greatly. But, before this exaltation, there was an execution. The Son suffered and died on the cross. Why? Not for his fault but for His people's sin. He bore the wrath of God towards our sin, a wrath that we surely deserved. So, yes, God is a God of mercy, but He pardoned our sins based on someone else taking our place. God didn’t wink at it and pretend sin didn’t exist. He poured his justice and punishment upon Christ. Christ took the sentence we had so that God could show us mercy.
A father’s actual love doesn’t ignore lawlessness. A father’s true love doesn’t blame shift or make excuses for his son. A father’s true love doesn’t ignore justice or the rule of law. A father’s true love leads the father not to abandon his son through discipline but to guide him toward understanding the consequences of his actions. A father’s true love leads the father to continue caring for his son through his sin, not by condoning it, but by helping him learn from it. A father’s true love points his son to true justice and mercy, as shown at Calvary by the Son of God sent by the Father. This Christmas, let us look to the parable of the President to understand the Father’s love for us in sending Christ to the earth. God came to bear the punishment for our sins to show us mercy. That is true love.