Last Sunday, Americans learned that our president pardoned his son, Hunter. It’s a wide-sweeping declaration covering not only his federal conviction for illegally buying a gun and tax evasion but “for those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024.” That is a large chunk of time. To be sure. And it begs a lot of questions. But I, for one, am thrilled that President Biden did this.

First of all, as a father, I get it. Imagine them sitting around the Thanksgiving table last Thursday, knowing that your son is facing serious prison time, and with the swipe of your pen, you could make it all disappear. Sure, you have made bold proclamations about being the party that adheres to the rule of law. Sure, you’ve made firm statements over and over that no one and I mean no one, is above the law. But this is your son, your only son whom you love.

So pardon him. Show mercy, forget the rule of law, and don’t worry about the miscarriage of justice; just wipe it away. Give him a clean slate and a fresh start on a new life.  And if you are going to do it, why not stretch all the way back to 21014 to cover the time the Ukrainian energy company was paying Hunter? At least this way, you’ve covered your bases in case any more blowback down the line could damage the family name.

But seriously, a pardon is part of the essential experience of the Christian. We may not use that word very often anymore, but at its core, a pardon is the act of forgiving, and forgiveness is what we all long to receive. We find ourselves trapped in a just sentence from which we cannot extricate ourselves. It takes the word and work of another to set us free. Now, I know this analogy isn’t all that great. All President Biden had to do was sacrifice his reputation and endure some press blowback. That’s a far cry from the sinless Son of God bearing our sin and dying in our place. It’s a low level of correlation, but there is some correlation, isn’t there?

Anyway, this brings me to my main reason for being happy that President Biden pardoned his son. It serves as a clear reminder to all who are ever tempted to believe that our representatives represent us. In the wake of the red wave and the belief that the Christian faith is again climbing to prominence in the political system, we are reminded that this is not how things actually work. Your uncle with heroin addiction isn’t getting a pardon, and your sister with 2 DUIs isn’t getting pardoned, not under Biden and not under Trump. The forgiveness of the state will always be selective and twisted into a means to serve those in power. Sure, it may be dangled out there like a carrot on a stick to secure your vote, but there is no value in it; there is nothing lasting about it.

Let this be another reminder to turn toward our brothers and sisters and to work earnestly to aid their trials and sufferings. Let us be the first to pardon with the authority of Christ himself. Let us remember when Jesus gathered his disciples and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”