As mentioned previously, Rick and I enjoy musicals. Our favorite is Les Miserables which is based on the book by Victor Hugo. We’ve seen several versions of both the movie and stage productions. It is probably the only major musical which I’ve paid to see multiple times. Although I have poor eyesight and am a slow reader, I spent weeks reading the whole book. Les Mis is the story of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his valiant struggle to redeem his past. Unjustly sent to prison for stealing a loaf of bread to help feed his starving sister and her family, he is finally released an angry man out to get even with the world. Labeled an ex-convict and finding work hard to obtain, he eventually spends one night in the home of the bishop whose act of charity brings back to life his dead soul. This is the beginning of his metamorphosis into an honorable citizen.
But he is constantly pursued by the officer Jovert who incarnates the very essence of moral conformity. He is the blind defense of established social norms. Most of the story evolves around his meeting with a woman named Fantine and becoming the guardian of her daughter, Cosette, after Fantine’s death. Cosette had been living with the Thenardiers who were wicked people taking advantage of the poor Fantine. The whole book describes his constant struggles escaping these foes.
Les Mis is the magnificent story of how escaped convict Jean Valean becomes hero and saint. It is a story of redemption and sacrifice. It is the ultimate story of forgiveness and how he learned to forgive everyone. His message was there is scarcely anything else in the world but that to love one another. We must forgive everyone. God knows better than we do what we need. Because things are unpleasant, that is no reason for being unjust toward God.
This month’s message is to encourage you to think about someone who has been a nemesis of yours in life and to focus on how forgiving that person might help bring love and redemption into your life