I must admit I don’t often find myself in agreement with the politician, Nelson McCausland; but following the death this week of former Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, the DUP man McCausland said this: “We need to be respectful to the McGuinness family, we need to be careful in what we say, but we also need to be truthful.”
I suspect Nelson’s version of the truth about Martin McGuinness will be different to many others. Barely was the mortal body of Mr. McGuinness cold in death on Tuesday morning than the range of reaction filled the airwaves. Such was the extent of the coverage, and such was the reaction on the streets that it makes one realise just how massive a figure he was.
It is always a difficult exercise to discuss the life of a person who has just passed away, but such was the impact of Martin McGuinness that some were far from careful.
Man of peace or man of war? Commentators and observers struggled to get the balance in assessing the man described as the “former IRA leader turned peacemaker.”
While Mr. McGuinness’s close family and friends mourned the passing of the 66-year-old in private, the discussion among others was very public.
In such circumstances, people considered his life and the impact on this country through the prism of their own circumstances, or at least from their own viewpoint. And as such, it was widely acknowledged that Tuesday was also a difficult day for the victims of the IRA campaign. 
I can only reflect from my own experiences and viewpoint.
On a personal level, Martin McGuinness was not only very courteous and kind to me, I found in him a warmth and likeability rarely found in people, whether in public life or not.
I had a number of conversations with him, but the one I remember most was at a reception in Castlecoole at the time of the G8, when he spoke about his father and his love of football and his family’s achievements in the sport.
He was, of course, a major figure in the IRA and this county contains many people who suffered grievously at the hands of that organisation. The hurt and pain still felt by many cannot be dismissed and it is important for us to say that such brutality should never have happened.
Martin McGuinness became the public face who everyone wanted to blame for everything, but it seems to me incongruous that one man shoulders all the responsibility. Though it is equally true that everything cannot be blamed on circumstance either.
But I believe that his transformation to peace was a real and genuine one, not a tactical one but a heartfelt desire. And I have said in this column before that there is a certain irony in the fact that Martin McGuinness has done more than most in the last 10 years to make Northern Ireland a successful entity and to make life better.
In 2002, he said “My war is over. My job now is to prevent war” adding that he wanted to work to create the circumstances in which nobody, either British soldiers or IRA volunteers, lost their lives.
He faced critics on his own side to shake hands with the Queen and received death threats when he called Republicans engaged in violence “traitors to Ireland.”
His efforts to reach out to Unionists for an inclusive future should not be underestimated.
It’s interesting that in all the reaction many Unionists accept that Martin McGuinness was the major player in bringing Republicans away from violence, and that he genuinely wanted to Stormont to work. Arlene Foster acknowledged that.
Interesting, too, that David Trimble wrote to him privately very recently and acknowledged his role on the journey to peace and it would seem to me that Peter Robinson’s comments reveal a better relationship than we imagined previously.
Indeed, it is a measure of his contribution that questions are being asked about the survival of the political process without his guidance.
But, of course, the most remarkable sea change in the whole peace process was the sight of a genuine friendship emerging between erstwhile sworn enemies Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness.
It’s hard to believe that two major icons of our political landscape are now gone; reminding us of the sobering fact that “man has but a short time to live.”
On the occasion of the passing of Ian Paisley, Martin McGuinness said, with emotion, that he had lost a friend. Now that he, himself, has passed away the Paisley family reciprocated with warmth and feeling for his widow, Bernie, and all her family.
Baroness Eileen Paisley has spoken of Martin McGuinness in fond terms and Ian junior has been generous in his comments. His brother, Kyle, said: “Very sorry to hear about the passing of Martin McGuinness. Look back with pleasure on the remarkable year he and my father spent in office together. Will never forget his ongoing care for my father in his ill health.”
But if we are to be fully truthful, we cannot ignore the fact that many victims feel differently. 
Two victims, for example, expressed starkly contrasting views.
Former Conservative Minister, Norman Tebbit who was caught up in the Brighton bomb in which his wife was paralysed, didn’t hold back. Among a number of strident comments, he wished Mr. McGuinness an “eternity in hell” and claimed the former IRA commander only turned to peace “to save his own skin.”
However, Jo Berry, whose father Sir Anthony Berry was killed in the very same bombing, said “Tebbit not speaking for all. I value Martin McGuinness as an inspiring example of peace and reconciliation. I lost my dad in Brighton bomb.”
Victims such as Ann Travers, some of the Enniskillen families, the people bereaved at Claudy and other have voiced their hurt and emotional feelings of loss, and despair that they have been denied truth and justice.
They are entitled to do so, surely. I am glad they have, mostly, expressed themselves in dignified if robust terms.
What I find difficult, though, are the words of Lord Tebbit. I am sorry, I know he has suffered, but such language of bitterness is sad. And looking at some of the social media commentary where “rot in hell” is among the mildest, is hardly the mark of a viewpoint that can hold any moral high ground.
They forget, too, that they will have to give an account of themselves one day. How will they answer if they are asked how they responded to Jesus’s instruction on the Sermon on the Mount to “love your enemies.”
Or what if they’re asked if they applied Ephesians 4 v 31-32: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.”
And as for yesterday’s Daily Mail front page, it was a disgusting shout out to the basic instincts of hate and revenge.
Martin McGuinness has now left this world, and like every single one of us will have to give an account of himself to God. Ultimately, God will be the only judge that matters.
 And we are left to reflect on his life.
Man of war or man of peace? Well, both actually, that is the contradiction.
There can be no doubt that he was an Irish patriot and devoted his life to his goal of a united Ireland.
He was truly a major figure in our history and will be written about and talked about for many years to come. But behind the scenes is emerging a character who impressed many people, both Protestants and Catholics.
Out of all the reaction I read this week, I would like to conclude with the words of Peter Lynas, of the Evangelical Alliance. It’s not an organisation that you may have expected to have such a compassionate view of Martin McGuinness.
But Mr Lynas wrote: We acknowledge that many will find today difficult given Martin McGuinness’s IRA past. However, we must also remember that he came on a significant journey of peace and reconciliation.
“I met Martin on a number of occasions and he talked about his relationship with Ian Paisley, his own faith and his desire for reconciliation. It is well known that the two prayed together and discussed faith. Martin always seems to have struggled with his own violent past, but he also took the Republican movement on a journey away from violence.
“Today I pray that Northern Ireland will continue on its journey towards peace and a thriving society. I pray for the many victims of the Troubles and their relatives. I pray for Martin’s wife and family. And I pray that during this season of Lent, we will pause to reflect on Jesus’s ultimate act of sacrifice that brings the opportunity of true freedom to everyone.”