Silent Night

I have been waiting to write this post because the sorrow I have felt over the Connecticut Elementary shooting on December 14 has been too raw.  And for many families Christmas will be a reminder of the loved ones taken from them in such a cruel and evil way.

I use the word evil because there simply is no other word to describe what happened last week.  How could anyone even imagine doing such horrible things?  Only a heart and mind rotten with hate. Perhaps the only justice in all that happened is that the killer has now faced God for what He did. 

I am reminded that the first Christmas was one of both great joy and great grief. In Matthew 2:16 the Bible tells the account of another horrible act committed by king Herod.  

" Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him.  He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men's report of the star's first appearance."

 Children are so precious.  They are gifts from God and they represent hope for the future.  To harm a child is to purposely put yourself in the direct path of God's wrath. 

" Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the scriptures say, ' I will take revenge; I will pay them back,' says the Lord."

~ Romans 12:19

Notice how the verse in Romans doesn't say we shouldn't feel angry or sad about what happened.  Those are natural feelings.  The key is in what we choose to do with our emotions.

It is a very solemn thing to recognize that the potential for murder is in all of us.  Every event in our lives begins with a thought which influences our emotions and ultimately our actions (Trees In My Mind.)

But we don't need science and the bad examples of humanity to know the end result of not obeying God's direction in how we should live.  God said it very clearly in  I John 3:15:

" Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers do not have eternal life within them."

As Christians we are called to love our enemies.  But how can we do that when all we feel is pain and anger?  How can we forgive those who hurt us when they do such horrible things on purpose?

The very first family in this world was devastated by murder.  Cain killed his brother Abel.  Up until that moment there had never been a human death.  To have it happen so brutally and by someone so close... only God's grace and strength could get them through.

And that remains the answer today.  Only God can see the minds and hearts of every person.  Only God knows how it all fits together to bring an end to our world's suffering.  And only God can help us as we each work through our own personal struggles.

We don't always get answers in this life.  But one day we will know and understand.  The day Jesus wipes every tear from our eyes.  The day we step into our true home: A shining city with streets of gold and only love and good will in every heart and mind.

Lord, I don't know what to say.  I don't understand.

But I know that you create every life in the womb and that

all life is so precious to you.

 

Please comfort the families, friends, co-workers, police, doctors, nurses,

morticians, and everyone so closely touched by the horrific acts last week.

Thank you for the women who gave their lives

protecting the children.

I love you Lord and thank you for the gift of Jesus Christ.  

The darkness is heavy right now

but the light is coming. 

Please bring peace to this world and may the year end

without further violence.

Come soon Lord Jesus.  Amen.

~ Sincerity