CAYLEE

Lady Justice must have wept.

Whether you were screaming at the television because you thought the defense covered up murder and then crowed about it...

or you were screaming because you thought the state overreached a first degree murder count without sufficient motive or conclusive DNA...

EVERYONE in America was sad about Caylee.

We watch Law and Order and we know Jack McCoy could have nailed this case.  For three years we've been told the evidence was a slam-dunk and CSI taught us to follow a powerful evidence trail.  Well, neither reality TV nor sitcoms ARE real life.  The evidence in this case wasn't believed.

Maybe The Twelve held the prosecutors to an impossible and artificial "TV standard".  Or maybe The Twelve were morons.  But now what?  Did a dysfunctional family just stage the perfect get-away?  Did George and Cindy Anthony pull their red Jeep into the garage and let the door down and turn to one another in a smile?  All of a sudden, America is rounding up a posse.

There WAS something heinous about Caylee's helpless state that wrenches our hearts.  Something about that little body left in a swamp alone causes us to want to rise and defend her.  Thank goodness we still have enough decency as a nation to react to justice denied an innocent child.

But our finite minds couldn't untangle all those tangled lies.  Did we really expect justice to sort through them?  What a Solomonic job!  We may not ever know how Caylee died, but we know that "this side" of life is full of unraveled knots that call for trusting God.  Perhaps you have a few unexplained knots.  I do.

Let's think biblically about this case:

1.  The only thing worse than miscarriage of justice is a wrong conviction.  God gave us our justice system...laws to protect us and preserve order.  Do we sometimes miss the boat?  Yes, things aren't perfect.  But I'd wager a guess that Dominique Strauss-Kahn is grateful today for a system that protects the innocent.

Sometimes life can seem to be only about what our eyes can see.  Today I see a different Casey Anthony as the judge said she might be released on Wednesday.  Of course her countenance would be brighter, but there is now preening and stroking the hair.  I hope this is not all about Casey.

It's easy to get snookered about this life being "all there is".  It isn't.  This is a blip and eternity stands before us.  One day all the things that cause today's angst will not even be a memory.  Today's woes serve to make us long for another place...and prompt us to get a ticket for that place...and fit us to serve in that place.

2.  Caylee Anthony was two months short of her third birthday and therefore not accountable to God for her ticket.  She got a fast track to heaven.  We overestimate the value of life on this side when we think Caylee's life was cut short.  In her new digs there are no lies or duct tape; the motives there are pure and love is trustworthy and complete.  The Bible says Jesus called the little children to come to Him.  Caylee may not have had a father on this side, but now her heavenly Father has her safely on His lap.  She is home.

3.  Are you angry because the Anthony family got away with murder?  They didn't.  The One who will judge all men's hearts knows what happened and He is a perfect Judge.  That is comforting when nothing else seems to help.  Hebrews 10.30 says "for we know the one who said, 'vengeance is Mine, I will repay' ".

Christians are grateful for the way that verse takes us off the judgment seat and keeps us from regrettable action.  Unless we were a witness in the Anthony home, the cause of Caylee's death is unknown.

Meanwhile, we are instructed by the "capital J" Judge...to put off anger, rage, malice, slander, and abusive language.  That might also include the inflammatory salute the associate defender gave to the media.  God called for the putting-off of destructive emotions because He knew how they chew up our insides.

The ability to actually put aside such rage is possible through Christ.  If the Anthonys decide to sell their story, it will be harder.  I hope we do not have to see this family anymore.

Our justice system has declared that we may not accuse Casey Anthony again for this murder.  But this murder case is not over...so put down your pitchforks.  The Judge With All Omniscience and Perfect Justice will have the final say.

"The LORD has made the heavens his throne; 

from there he rules over everything."  

Psalm 103.19 NLT