“O Brother, Where Art Thou” is a brilliant film. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it. If you have seen it. I still highly recommend it. In this brilliant film (have I said that enough?) one of the characters, escaped convict Delmar O’ Donnell, gets baptized in the river. Here’s how the scenario goes:
Delmar: Well that's it, boys. I've been redeemed. The preacher's done warshed away all my sins and transgressions. It's the straight and narrow from here on out, and heaven everlasting's my reward. The preacher says all my sins is warshed away, including that Piggly Wiggly I knocked over in Yazoo.
Everett: I thought you said you was innocent of those charges?
Delmar: Well I was lyin'. And the preacher says that that sin's been warshed away too. Neither God nor man's got nothin' on me now. C'mon in boys, the water is fine.
Everyone makes mistakes. Most make really big mistakes. Some make even worse mistakes. Some do things that they are sure are unforgivable.
They're not.
"Wait! Are you saying that what Delmar said is true? Are you saying that people who commit crimes shouldn’t have to go to jail? Are you saying that people should try to do bad because it'll be forgiven? Are you saying that what people do doesn't matter?"
No. I simply said that those things are not unforgivable. They're forgivable.
Delmar still had to answer to the law of the land. Being forgiven by God doesn’t wipe out responsibility for our actions. But God does forgive completely.
Do you believe that?
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