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I said, "You know, your miracle could be that you need to—you need to be caught for this. You need to go to prison and you need to share the Word of God with them, with all the prisoners there."

Smith has already been offered book and film deals. H.B. London, vice president for ministry outreach/pastoral ministry at Focus on the Family said, "Every Christian organization in the country will want to tell her story" as an example of "how God can sustain a person in a time when most people would have crumbled."

"This is, I would say, one of the more dramatic, if not the most dramatic [testimonials] I'm aware of," Vicki Cessna, spokeswoman for Zondervan told the Los Angeles Times. "Obviously the book has had far-reaching, life-changing influences for millions of people. We're just honored that this in any way helped facilitate a positive outcome for Ashley."

"She epitomizes the many Americans clinging to the edge of the middle class, working multiple jobs, making mistakes, finding loss and redemption, and enduring tragedy, all while looking for wisdom and comfort in self-help books and Scripture," writes The Christian Science Monitor. The paper continues:

Smith's more humanist reaction reminds some observers of Terry Waite, who negotiated the release of two Anglican priests from Libya, and of hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina, who saved hundreds of lives through negotiation during the Rwandan genocide, in a story that inspired the movie Hotel Rwanda. In those cases, common men became forces to reckon with by virtue of their astute perceptions of human behavior. Authenticity and self-knowledge, not brute force, are key attributes to solving the stickiest standoffs, negotiators say.

"Our culture trains us to make an argument to overwhelm the other side, not to listen to what the other person is saying," says Mr. Benjamin in Portland. In contrast, "[Smith] practiced negotiation at its most noble, artful way."

So, before the SWAT team surrounded the apartment complex with guns, Smith had defused the situation with love. In fact, when Nichols left her, untied, with ready access to guns, and when Smith followed Nichols in her own car while he ditched his stolen truck, Smith declined to take the opportunity to free herself. Instead she hoped to convince Nichols to turn himself in without hurting anyone else. "For a country used to getting things done with overwhelming force, it was a humbling lesson in Peacemaking 101," writes the Monitor.

Her account makes a great illustration of how God works in our lives, and it ought to be told, as London suggests. Hopefully it doesn't become a clichéd Hollywood story of faith, courage, and hope, because it is a beautiful illustration of the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus says, "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. … I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

As Dallas Willard says, Jesus was a pretty smart guy, huh?

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

News stories elsewhere include:

Ex-hostage: 'I wanted to gain his trust' | Authorities say courthouse shooting suspect Brian Nichols held Ashley Smith hostage for hours in her suburban apartment northeast of Atlanta before she was able to get away and call 911. On Sunday, Smith, 26, recounted her ordeal to reporters in her attorney's office. (CNN, March 14, 2005)

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March (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49