School Shooting

Weekly Update – May 26th, 2022

This week, another horrible tragedy hit our nation.  The unimaginable became true once again as 19 children and 2 teachers were killed in a mass shooting.  Eighteen-year-old Salvador Ramos walked into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX., barricaded himself in a classroom and opened fire.  But as we think about tragedies such as these, our first thoughts can’t be to blame others.  Many people are ranting and raving about new measures for gun control that need to be enacted as they berate our government for its failures.  Others are blaming our mental health system as they claim more should be done for people such as Ramos.  Both of these thoughts may be true, but at this time, they are beside the point.  Those discussions will come and must come, but right now we must realize that those involved are real people.  They are sons and daughters of men and women like you and me.  Families are connected to these victims and many are hurting.  In our mental processing of these types of events, let us not ever separate ourselves from the connection that we have with other human beings before we come up with an explanation or a solution.  Instead, let us consider how we ought to process this event as Christians before an unbelieving world. 

First, as Christians, let us remember that evil is real.  Though most of us recoil in horror at the thought that anyone would ever be able to even think about killing 21 people, there are others who have given into the wicked tendencies of their hearts to commit such atrocities.  With sin entering the world through our first parents, we see murder occurring as early as Genesis chapter 4 with Cain killing his brother Abel.  Since this murder, we have seen all sorts of evil occur throughout human history and we see no signs of it letting up.  As men allow their consciences to be seared to the truth (1 Tim. 4:2), we see that God gives them over to a depraved mind (Rom. 1:28).  So we rightly call this event evil, as what occurred came as a result of a continued suppression of the reality and truth of who our God is. 

Second, as Christians, let is remember that sin is irrational.  This sort of evil is inexplicable and beyond our understanding.  Again, how can a man open fire on innocent victims as he, in a fit of rage, seeks to enact some sort of revenge on some past wrongs?  It is irrational.  But at the core of it, all sin is irrational.  Consider what James 1:14-15 says, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”  For Salvador Ramos, likely the desire to payback some sort of injustice done to him was a rational thought.  Many of us long for justice for our own misfortunes.  But then this desire, after it was conceived, brought forth sin, and the sin, at its fullest literally brought about death.  Again, irrational to us, but to the one committing sin, it was likely a rational process.  Let us never find ourselves entrapped by the lusts of our sinful desires, because sin, though irrational, has a way of presenting itself as the best solution to us for our problems. 

Third, as Christians, let us remember that Jesus is our only hope.  On the surface of it, that statement might appear to be a little trite.  But it isn’t.  It’s true.  Jesus is our only hope.  In the conversation of life and death, sin and evil and our longing for the world to be made right, Jesus must necessarily be the focal point.  Jesus came to live, die and rise again so that we would be forgiven, but also so that as Paul says in Romans 6:6, “we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”  Ultimately it was the enslaving power of sin that led to this evil act.  But then, in addition to this, Jesus provides us with the only hope we can have beyond the grave for these many victims.  For all who are in Christ will one day be resurrected to new life, with all justice finally served and all tears and heartaches wiped away.  When Jesus is the focal point of our conversation on tragedy, we have the confidence to cry out, “Come Lord Jesus,” as we trust in a savior who has overcome the world.

This week, let us weep as we mourn the loss of human life.  Though we may not know any of the victims personally, they were people with hopes and dreams and families and friends just like you and me.  Let us pray for those connected with this school and those killed.  Pray that the love of Jesus Christ and the comfort that can only come from His gospel would be proclaimed.  But also pray for churches in Uvalde, TX. as they seek to minister Christ in the face of such an event.  Then beyond this, let this event remind us that this world is not our home.  We live in a place where evil runs rampart and sin dwells in the hearts of many.  We are mere sojourners passing through this world, proclaiming the hope of the world to come, with our eyes fixed on Jesus. 

Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson