Purpose of Jahar Book and How To Love Our Enemies
- Aileen Lee
- May 16, 2019
- 8 min read
Updated: Sep 18, 2022
The Boston Bomber was the most hated man in America. Many people said nasty things about him and he was reduced to a non-human being. He doesn't deserve to have a book written about him, you know. I mean, I could be writing my fantasies, but I felt his story deserves to be told. I wanted to write Tsarnaev's story to let people know what he was like before he committed the crime. I also was interested in writing his story so people who haven’t heard about his case can learn from the event and can pray for him. I hope this leads people to pray not only for him but for other prisoners who need prayers as well. My book "Jahar The Lone Boston Bomber" opens with a dedication page: This book is dedicated to those who uttered a word of prayer or forgiveness to love thy enemies. This book has an important message about God’s love and that is to love our enemies. The theme of “Love for Enemies” is a hidden message throughout the book. A couple of times this love was written in the book like: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”, “We must pray for our enemies” and “Love rather than hate.” But, I didn’t share how to love our enemies.
Jesus was sympathetic to anyone, even to criminals. He commanded people to have a love for enemies. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But, I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:43-45a)
Loving your enemies is a commandment from God. This is a love that is difficult for us to understand and achieve. Let me try and explain what God is trying to achieve in us.
HOW TO LOVE OUR ENEMIES
Love is like writing a letter to the killer as this woman did. Her name is Wendi Johnson and she bravely wrote to her perpetrator who killed her husband. Her purpose: She wanted to forgive them and she prayed for them. She wrote to him, “God loves you, regardless of what you’ve done. I’ve forgiven you, and God’s willing to forgive you if you turn to Him.”
Months later she received a handwritten letter from the perpetrator. He wrote, “I’m sorry for all the pain I caused you and your family. Thank you, Wendi, for your letter. I prayed for a sign that I’d been forgiven.”
Here is the link to Wendi’s story about how she forgave her husband’s killer. Love for enemies in this story is baking cookies for prisoners. This act of love allowed her to get closer to “the world behind bars.” It led her to write the letter to her perpetrator.*
Love is reaching out and forgiving your enemies.
FORGIVING YOUR ENEMY
When Jesus was crucified and dying on the cross He said aloud, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Jesus said this while the Roman soldiers divided his clothes by casting lots. The soldiers may not care about Jesus. But Jesus asked his Father to forgive their actions for executing him. Jesus also showed mercy to one of the criminals dying next to him on the cross. One criminal confessed his sins and he prayed for his salvation. After he repented, Jesus told him that he will be with him in paradise.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Luke 11:2-4)
I find it interesting that we sometimes say this prayer in church a lot, but, do we take it to heart to ask God to, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors?” In another translation, let’s go to Luke 11:4, it reads, “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” Jesus taught the disciples how to pray and ask the Father to forgive their sins as they also forgive those who sinned against them. This is like a pledge that we promised to God. We must forgive those who sinned against us. Jesus asked us to:
Love your enemies.
Pray for your enemies.
Forgive your enemies.
RELATE TO OUR ENEMIES – TO CONNECT
God sent his son Jesus to save the lost. We are the lost. We are enemies of God in our sins. But God loves us and sent Jesus to die on the cross so that we, who “were still sinners” or God’s enemies, can be forgiven through the reconciliation of Jesus’ death. Jesus bled and died to buy our pardon, our sin. Jesus wants us to reconnect with God in a relationship in God’s love for man. He wants us to relate to Him, and to one another.
That is why He wants us to relate to our enemies.
In God’s eyes, enemies are guilty and many prisoners repent and find salvation in Christ. They become clean in sin and become God’s son. We, too, will become sons of God in heaven when we seek to lead the lost, the sinners and the enemies to Christ. What are we to do?
Relate to enemies.
Show them mercy and kindness.
Lead them to God’s love.
Enemies become Sons of God.
An example of showing kindness to prisoners is to write letters to death row inmates. Diana and Gary Shertenlieb, a Catholic couple wrote to death row inmate Joshua Bishop in 1997 and corresponded with him for 17 years. Diana sent Joshua, who was 22 at the time, a “Catholic Bible, a rosary and other religious items.” She said, “I just wanted him to have something to hold on to. I wanted him to know that someone on the outside was thinking of him and praying for him.”
Joshua was executed by lethal injection in Georgia on March 31, 2016, for the murder of Leverett Morrison in 1994. During his whole life behind bars, he was drawn to the church because of that one act of kindness. He was baptized at age 23.
SHOW KINDNESS TO EVIL –
LOVE OVERCOMES HATE
God shows no favoritism. “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45).
God treats evil people with kindness also. Jesus was also kind to the unrighteous. So, we who are righteous should also show mercy and loving-kindness to our enemies. A footnote in my Bible says, “We must love our attackers and desire the best for them.” This may seem like the most challenging thing to do, especially if you are a victim or a survivor of the attack.
How can a victim want the best for his attacker?
I can’t really answer that.
In Tsarnaev’s trial, the survivors of the bombings were very wounded and hurt to really want any best for him.
Bad people are terrible people. However, over time some criminals do find God behind bars and they are transformed to become brothers and sisters in Christ. They are not the same person as before. Joshua Bishop, the death row inmate who was executed was not the same person when he committed the crime years ago. He lived each day in faith, being positive and to help others around him. He did an interview and shared his story for The Georgia Bulletin in October 2014. He wrote: “Every day is not a picnic, but I try every day to live my Christian faith by doing something positive with my life left. Society with the death penalty say(s) we are unredeemable. But the change in me is to say no matter what they say I must still offer my life up to give back anything I can that will be positive to those I hurt and those that live around me.” *
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev aka Jahar will have remorse; his whole life is behind bars. As he grows up in prison he is not going to be the same person who bombed the marathon. He will probably grow up to be a different person. He probably regrets what he’s done in the past. Or, he probably doesn’t have remorse. Either way it’s important for us to love him (relate to him) and to pray for him. Although he is living in isolation and is in the worst prison in the nation we should remember Jahar and desire the best for him.
We should love the person and hate the sin. This is the Christian attitude: “Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them! And don’t be concerned that they might not repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to the unthankful and to those who are wicked. You must be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate.” (Luke 6:35-36)
I am encouraged by this blog, "In Time of Need." You see, there are people who still pray for Jahar. This is an amazing powerful testimony of Christians still praying for Jahar in 2017. Here is a prayer from Priez Pour Dzhokhar. Let’s pray for Jahar and desire the best for him.
THE PRAYER - IN TIME OF NEED
“Heavenly Father, in Jahar's present need, help him to believe that you are aware of his anxiety and remorse and will do what is best for him. Give him the strength to trust you and put the present and future in your hands. You spared his life, now please restore him. Grant this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.” *
Aileen Lee is the author of
"JAHAR The Lone Boston Bomber #2 : The Story about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from his capture to his trial."
(Published November 29, 2016, Revised 2018)
The story is about the convicted Boston Bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who (along with his brother, Tamerlan) was accused of terrorism for bombing the Boston Marathon. Tsarnaev is on death row and is appealing his death sentence.
READERS' COMMENTS ABOUT JAHAR BOOK
10 Top reasons why you should read it.
1. It is a historical account.
2. A significant book with a national topic.
3. It is very interesting and informative.
4. The trial is very interesting and highly riveting.
5. It’s very engaging!
6. I appreciate the love, mercy, and compassion in your book.
7. Your book is eye-opening in a number of ways.
8. It is about salvation. That’s what it is.
9. It is about love, hope, and repentance.
10. I hated this person in my life. But thanks to your book it helped me changed my view to love my enemy.
PROLOGUE
This special prologue is only published in the Ebook Kindle Revised Edition, not in the paperback.
Tsarnaev’s attorney, David Bruck, spoke softly to the eighteen jurors in the courtroom. As he delivered the Opening Statement, he peered over to look at his 21-year-old client, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The dark, curly-haired, young man sat quietly with his head bowed. He had an expressionless face. The court could see a large visible scar running behind Dzhokhar’s left ear and down his neck. Bruck thought about how his team had worked together to spare their client’s life from the death penalty. Dzhokhar was involved with helping his big brother, Tamerlan, detonate the lethal bombs at the 2013 Boston Marathon. Dzhokhar survived the shootout, but his older brother died. So, he’s the one we are left to deal with. Bruck spoke clearly the next words about Dzhokhar so the jury would know something tragic about him. He said to them, “The man who conceived, planned and led these crimes is beyond our reach. Only the 19-year-old younger brother who helped is left.”
Only the younger brother survived. He was called “Suspect #2.”
This is the second half of a continuing story about the Boston Marathon bombings.
This is Dzhokhar’s story. The one they called “Jahar.” He is the lone Boston Bomber.
The one singled-out. He is the one standing alone.
Aileen's book is at Amazon:
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