Finally Got Him!

The name Van der Sloot will ring a nasty bell in the ears of those who recall the heartbreaking presumed murder and disappearance of Natalle Holloway in Aruba back in May of 2005. The primary suspect was Jordan Van der Sloot who could not be pinned down for the crime despite volumes of evidence pointing his way and because the girl's body was never found.

But now his fate has seemingly changed. In Peru, his latest playground, he has actually confessed to murder. But this time the tragic evidence is painfully present in the form of the slain body of young Stephany Flores.

In his confessing, Van der Sloot stated that Flores grabbed his laptop without his permission and found out that he was involved in the disappearance of an American woman. The Peruvian paper quoted him as saying, "I did not want to do it. The girl intruded into my private life... she didn't have any right. I went to her and I hit her. She was scared, we argued and she tried to escape. I grabbed her by the neck and hit her."

NBC News reported that a lawmaker confirmed that Van der Sloot did confess to a police officer during interrogation. It is not certain how the confession will affect the still unsolved Holloway case. But NBC’s legal analyst Dan Abrams stated that it is indeed possible now as this latest turn of events certainly reveals what Van der Sloot is capable of. The suspect was represented by a state-appointed lawyer during Saturday's questioning. Meanwhile, the suspect's family is trying to find the most competent counsel money can buy to defend him once again.

This unexpected event may shock some, relieve others, and perhaps raise the question of what other crimes this apparently evil young man has been engaged in? For a while it appeared as though he had gotten off the hook from the 2005 case. But nobody really does that forever according to 1 Timothy 5:24. The writer reveals there, "Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later." Sin is not always exposed in this life or paid for through the various, and often ineffective, justice systems of man. But to an all-knowing Creator-God, every hidden act, and even every spoken word, and will be brought into the light someday. Matthew twelve shares the words of Jesus in verse 36. "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment."

It will be interesting to see what kind of defense is mounted for Joran Van der Sloot this time around. A confession would surely suggest a conviction. But who really knows what will occur once the best legal minds available are hired?

But there is something that is certain and of far greater importance concerning the subject and is clearly laid out in the Scriptures. The Apostle John speaks about the ultimate defense from all sins – those exposed in this life and those hidden all the way to the grave. He writes how there is but one defender who can fully clean the eternal slate of every sinner whether the sins be large or small. His identity and unique qualifications are presented in 1 John 2:1-2: "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."

Joran Van der Sloot's greatest need is not just a fancy attorney for the heinous crimes he has committed to date. His most desperate need is a personal relationship with the only Advocate who can justify him fully now and for eternity. The same can also sentence him forever to a place that will make the worst prison on earth look like a Sunday School picnic!

It would be a relief and encouraging to see this troubled young man confess his brutal crimes before an earthly court of law and removed from society for good. But he needs to do more – much more! There is a much higher level that he needs to address. It is infinitely more crucial that he someday confess himself as a pathetic and poor sinner in great need of a personal Savior! The miraculous, life-altering, and lasting results of doing that through faith in Jesus Christ are also spoken of by Paul in Romans chapter ten.

"That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10)

Bill Breckenridge