Berry story used in biblical reflection

The narrator then makes this profound comment: "People sometimes talk of God's love as if it's a pleasant thing.  But it is terrible, in a way.  Think of all it includes.  It included Thad Coulter, drunk and mean and foolish, before he killed Mr. Feltner, and it included him afterwards."(1)

"God's love is terrible, in a way.  Think of all it includes."  I have often been asked, "Could God not have forgiven people without going through the pain and the violence of the Cross?"  As nice as that sounds, reality forces me to ask: When is forgiveness not painful?  True forgiveness cannot occur unless the hurt is acknowledged and called for what it is.  When you look a wrong full in the face but choose to accept the hurt instead of returning it on the one who did it, that is always painful. 

via www.rzim.org