“Son of Sam” will go to Heaven?

A man named David Berkowitz terrorized New York City 50 years ago, killing six people in a murderous rampage that lasted a year before he was arrested. This week the man nicknamed “Son of Sam” outraged many with a proclamation that he fully expects to go to Heaven when he dies. 

Berkowitz said, “I’m already free. Jesus, who is my Lord and Messiah, has already set me free from the power of sin and Satan.”

A man who survived after being shot by Berkowitz met the bold assertion of eternal life with angry words, including some a little too crude for this blog. He opined - “I sincerely doubt he is going to heaven. He is lucky he is not already in hell.”  https://nypost.com/2026/05/21/us-news/son-of-sam-killer-david-berkowitz-predicts-hell-go-to-heaven/

The scandal of God’s amazing grace is that even the worst of the worst are never beyond redemption no matter how offensive it may seem to our sense of justice. I can empathize with the man who suffered terribly, and, at the same time, I am grateful for the sacrifice of the Savior that reaches to the lowest and includes me!

In Matthew’s Gospel we learn the stories of the men that Jesus chose to follow Him. They were invited to be with Him, to learn His ways, and to hear His words. In just 3 years He would send them with the Good News to the ends of the earth.

Who was worthy of the calling? Who did He choose?
It was not the religious, the outwardly pure, or the society elites. He did not pick those who were well-connected or who held positions of influence. He chose ordinary men, even some that society considered outcasts! One of them was a person despised by general society. His name? Matthew!

"As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-14, NIV)

Matthew was labeled by the town because he cooperated with the occupation army of Romans as a tax collector. Many who held those positions were also crooks who enriched themselves from their fellow Jews. Shunned for their work, tax collectors avoided the synagogue which was the center of Jewish life. Thus, they were also labeled, ‘sinners.’ Jesus saw past the job title and the social label into the heart of the man and there he saw a hunger for God. And He called him – “Follow me!”

It was scandalous. How could the Rabbi, a teacher about the things of God, invite a person so compromised in character to become His friend and associate?

Those who were thought to be closest to God because of their scrupulous observance of the Law of Moses were confounded. “Why does your Teacher eat with these ‘low-lifes,’ these nobodies, these people who are not worthy of our God?”   Jesus overheard the conversation and defined His mission for them.

He was the Advocate of the Broken,
the Healer of the spiritual sick,
the Giver of mercy to those who had failed.
And He still is.

Jesus never told ‘sinners’ to keep on living the same way they were when He found them. He accepted people and led them to change and transformation. Oh, how I pray He would give Christians today the sensitive and loving ability to do the same.

We tend to fail at one extreme or the others. Either we determine that only the ‘select’ are good enough for God and our fellowship, our spiritual pride making us ugly and exclusive; or we make grace cheap and we are unable to ‘speak the truth in love’ and thus, to invite people to become like Jesus, to wrestle with those parts of life that need to be restored to the will of their Father.

The inarguable fact is this - Nobody is beyond the reach of God’s grace, not even a man like David Berkowitz. Everybody can be transformed by the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

He loved me and is changing me, day by day, into Christ’s likeness. How about you?

Have you been told you were the wrong … gender, color, age … not smart enough … too scarred by your past … to be included in God’s love, to be invited into His Kingdom? Those are lies. Reject them and listen to the Spirit of God who says, “You are invited.” 

Respond with faith and God will put you on His team, equipping you for spiritual service, preparing you for an awards banquet where He will overlook nothing, forget no one.

When you experience God’s grace, accept His great love, and find a place in His family let your life become one marked by love that is scandalous, that reaches to all, that is willing to forgive others.

Here is a word from the Word. I pray it will remind all of us to open the doors to Christ to ALL. Regardless of your pedigree, your performance, or your pride soak your mind in the Truth declared here that is beyond amazing.

“Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world…^. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) …  God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”  (Ephesians 2 NLT)

Isn’t that just amazing?

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Do you have ‘good guts?’

Sometimes this old man sheds real tears while watching the news. I hurt for refugees living with nothing and little hope. I ache for woman treated like possessions. I truly feel for the person who makes an awful mistake in the moment and faces a lifetime of consequences. Last week, I pulled up to a city intersection about 9 pm and there in the cold rain stood a once pretty younger woman who face showed the results of long-term addiction. Her ragged clothes were mute evidence of poverty. She held a sign that said “Homeless. Any amount appreciated.” Not wanting to take the chance of feeding an addiction I drove on, but her face haunted me the rest of the evening.

Then, sometimes I just want to turn it all off when something real called compassion fatigue sets in! When any person is repeatedly exposed to suffering people, there is a built-in defense mechanism that kicks in. Compassion fatigue can cause a person's heart to become hard as a stone! We see an awful lot of human need and suffering, don't we?  

It’s simple to blame the victim. The other night the easy answer would have been to just dismiss the young woman with a label – addict- and made her an object rather than seeing a broken human being whose life experience I know absolutely nothing.

If we develop a hard heart and choose to throw the problem back onto those in pain or need, thinking things like -
"That's their problem, not mine!"
"What do you expect me to do about it?"
"They made their bed; guess they'll have to sleep in it."
"Fools!"
then, we don’t have to care.

We're all subject to compassion fatigue!
When busy days pile one on top of another; when deadlines line up; when there are demands to meet the expectations of others - we might find ourselves saying, "Oh no, not another person with a problem."

If that's where you are emotionally, won't you join me in prayer asking the Father for a heart that beats with His love, a tender heart? The Lord promises those who are hardened by sin: "I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart!" (Ezekiel 11:19, NLT)

My prayer this morning is for a tender heart! In several passages of the New Testament, disciples are urged to be 'tender-hearted' towards others. Ephesians 4:32 says "Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you."  Peter teaches us that "All of you should be of one mind, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds." (1 Peter 3:8)

In this gentleness towards those in need, we are like our Heavenly Father "because he is full of tenderness and mercy!" (James 5:11)

I thought you might like a little insight on 'tender hearted' or 'pitiful' - the word in the King James Version. It means 'good bowels!' Gross, right? Not really. Those who lived in ancient times believed that emotions were centered in the abdominal cavity, the heart, the liver, and the intestines! They, like us, experienced fear, joy, love and felt those things physically - pounding heart, nausea, etc.!  We get ‘butterflies in our stomach’ when we are excited. Extreme fear can make us nauseous. Passionate love can make us tremble and sweat.

So, the ancients concluded that their gut was the center of emotion and they spoke of tender emotions using the word "eusplagchnos," (NT Greek) meaning in a literal translation- ‘good bowels!' And to be sure, they were not talking about poop!

Let the lesson take hold of you and pray for restoration of 'good guts!'
Will you allow God to restore your emotions?
Will you allow yourself to feel the sorrow of those who mourn, to share the joy the of those who rejoice?

When we are gentle and kind, moved by the suffering of others, we are like our Lord Jesus. Jesus is often described at deeply tenderhearted. We read that He was "moved with compassion" when confronted with human suffering, grief, and physical needs.

He openly wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus, reflecting deep empathy for those who were hurting (John 11).

He healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, and fed massive crowds simply because he cared for them and did not want them to go home hungry.

In the famous story of His interaction with an adulterous woman, He refused to condemn, choosing to stand with her as He offered forgiveness and restoration in a profoundly gentle way that left her accusers speechless. (John 8:1-11).

Yes, by nature, this Lord of the Universe, Creator of all things, is "gentle and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29).

So, let’s be willing to have great guts -- a tender heart!

Once more hear the challenge of the Spirit who says to us – “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32)

Amen!

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Lonely?

In a time that offers us all kinds of ‘social’ connections, Americans report an epidemic of loneliness. About 1 in 5 of those under the age of 50 report that they feel isolated, alone, a majority of the time. An even higher percentage of young adults (18-29) report being lonely. Ever larger numbers of senior adults wrestle with intense loneliness.

There are many reasons for this including our social and political divisions, the rising cost of living that limits social outings, and the fact that fewer people marry; continuing to live in their parents’ home which often causes increased social isolation. Add in our mobile society, lower rates of engagement with community groups such as church and you have the making of lives that are marked by the sadness of loneliness.

Doctors report that loneliness is more than just a terrible experience. It can contribute to increased health with heart disease, dementia, and even premature death.

We are reaping the harvest of our affair with individualism! For a time, we can find immense pleasure in ‘doing our own thing’ but failing to appreciate the value of long-term relationships, shared purpose, and the ‘give and take’ that comes with real community will lead us to isolation eventually.

The Psalmist poetically writes about it. “I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof.” (Psalm 102) Most of us have experienced that at least some of the time.

So, how do we defeat loneliness? The answers to that question are neither simple nor easy.

Primarily, we find comfort in the unfailing LOVE of God for us.

By feeding our mind with the declarations of the Scripture, we can move past ‘feeling’ and accept, by faith, what we find there. John declares “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3) In a favorite passage of mine, we find this – “Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Ephesians 3)

I am convinced by the Word that the One who knows us best, loves us most! So many let false notions of a ‘gotcha God’ keep them from knowing the joy of the security of our Loving Father. But that is Who He is.

When we learn to live centered in Divine Love, we become capable of being loving, of developing the kind of acceptance of others that builds strong ties. “We love because He loved us first,” the Word says. A secure person has no need to be critical, exclusive, or mean. The generous overflow of God’s love will make us truly generous with others, willing and capable of true forgiveness. Few things separate people more than holding onto old hurts, nursing emotional wounds, or insisting on ‘fairness’ as they understand it. JForgiveints to the critical importance of this when He teaches us to ask God to “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”  Do you want God to generous in His love then give away the things that are holding you hostage to bitterness, isolating you from others. Indeed, Jesus goes on to repeat the point - “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6)

In Christ, we find a new ‘family’ connecting to a higher purpose with others.
Christ’s Church can be a place where loneliness is defeated. To be honest, it often does not meet that purpose. People fail. Churches are imperfect. Many attend as ‘consumers’ demanding that their ‘own needs’ be prioritized. But, when Church becomes a place where the focus is on worshipping the Living God and serving others selflessly, a beautiful community unlike any other can emerge.

In one of his earliest letters to the Church, Paul speaks of the family of Believers. “Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more.”  (1 Thessalonians 4)  

Few things can defeat loneliness more than being loved in a church family, finding a place of service there, prioritizing attendance at gatherings, and creating long-term relationships with others centered on the shared love of Jesus Christ!

Lonely? Don’t stay that way. Yes, it can be difficult to change old patterns, to learn new social skills, and to find a place to ‘fit’ in this world. But it is possible!

Here is a word from the Word – David’s lament and prayer.
“Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish.” (Psalm 25)

May you find the joy of belonging,
the comfort of true relationship,
and the security of the love of the Eternal Father.

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