Les Misérables: W is for What Have I Done?

A Convict with conviction...

"Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God."  Jeremiah 3:25


One of the most compelling and poignant scenes is that of convict 24601, falling on his hands and knees in repentance. He has just been shown grace and mercy by the Bishop, avoiding another conviction for stealing. You can see his anguish as he examines his heart:

Photo Source

"What have I done?
Sweet Jesus, what have I done?
Become a thief in the night!
Become a dog on the run!

. . . Take an eye for an eye.
Turn your heart into stone.
This is all I have lived for.
This is all I have known.

One word from him and I'd be back
Beneath the lash, upon the rack.
Instead, he offers me my freedom.
I feel my shame inside me like a knife.
He told me that I have a soul.
How does he know?
What spirit comes to move my life?
Is there another way to go?

And I stare into the void-
To the whirlpool of my sin.
I'll escape now from the world
From the world of Jean Valjean.
Jean Valjean is nothing now.
Another story must begin.

Here is a fabulous video of Hugh Jackman as he acts and becomes Jean Valjean. Includes clips of "What have I Done?" at the end . . . a "must-see"!

Has the goodness of God or others brought you to your knees in humility and repentance?