Last victim to address Larry Nassar gives him incredible message from the Bible
Former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar learned his fate Wednesday for sexually abusing numerous girls and women when Judge Rosemarie Aquilina handed down a sentence of up to 175 years in prison.
The sentence concluded a weeklong saga where more than 150 victims of Nassar’s cruelty testified against him.
Among all the powerful testimonies and sickening stories about his actions, one that stood out came from Rachael Denhollander.
Denhollander was the first survivor to file a police report against Nassar.
It was only fitting that she would be the last one to face him in the courtroom.
Denhollander stood up to her abuser with a profound confidence that was clearly visible through her faith in God.
Denhollander referenced a disgraced Nassar bringing a Bible to early court hearings and begging for forgiveness.
“If you have read the Bible you carry, you know that the definition of sacrificial love portrayed is of God himself loving so sacrificially that He gave up everything to pay a penalty for the sin he did not commit,” said Denhollander.
“By His [God’s] grace I too choose to love this way,” she said.
“You spoke of praying for forgiveness, but Larry, if you have read the Bible you carry, you know forgiveness does not come from doing good things, as if good deeds can erase what you have done,” Denhollander continued. “It comes from repentance, which requires facing and acknowledging the truth about what you have done in all of its utter depravity and horror, without mitigation, without excuse, without acting as if good deeds can erase what you have seen in this courtroom today.
“The Bible you carry says it is better for a millstone to be thrown around your neck and you thrown into a lake than for you to make even one child stumble. And you have damaged hundreds.
“The Bible you speak of carries a final judgment where all of God’s wrath and His eternal terror is poured out on men like you. Should you ever reach the point of truly facing what you have done, the guilt will be crushing.
“And that is what makes the Gospel of Christ so sweet, because it extends grace, and hope, and mercy where none should be found. And it will be there for you.
“I pray you experience the soul-crushing weight of guilt so that you may someday experience true repentance and true forgiveness from God, which you need far more than forgiveness from me — though I extend that to you as well.”
Wow.
What an amazing word from an amazing young woman. Denhollander, despite the atrocities done to her and so many others, was able to look her aggressor in the eyes and, only through the power of the Gospel, forgive Nassar for his actions.
Genesis 50:20 tells us, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
What an awesome testament of the Gospel in action that Denhollander was able to portray.
Since her abuse, Hollander said, she has been able to enjoy the “soul-satisfying joy of a marriage built on sacrificial love, and safety, and tenderness, and care.”
“I have experienced true intimacy in its deepest joys, and it is beautiful and sacred and glorious, and that is a joy you have cut yourself off from ever experiencing,” she told Nassar. “And I pity you for it.”
Thank you, Rachael Denhollander, for your inspiring words and bold testimony in the face of evil.
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