We live in a rotten world. It is a world of unspeakable beauty yet unfathomable evil because of the deeds of the wicked. It is the wicked who kill the innocent and their shed blood cries out for justice, justice only satisfied by an eternal, holy God. Inevitably in times of grief we shift our gaze from the individual perpetrators and take aim at society as a whole. What could have been done to prevent such tragedies like Columbine and Sandy Hook Elementary? When it is so fresh, what can we do but weep? It sometimes feels like the pain of the victims, their families, and even the perpetrators are lost in the ensuing debate. Since sane people cannot fathom what exactly drives a person to such insanity, we can only stab in the dark for answers. For every suggestion, it seems there are more who disagree than agree.
It has been said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The trouble is, all the prevention in the world cannot stop criminals from doing what they do. More cameras, restrictive laws, armed guards, bullet proof-glass, education, and awareness provide no guarantee as adequate safeguards against violence. Everyone has opinions about what needs to change in our world. If our solution to the problem only addresses the symptoms, we will never be free from the trouble. The problems the world is facing today are way bigger than government legislation or gun control. There has been gun control in varying degrees for decades in the United States. Would more gun control prevent future gun-related tragedies? Maybe. If the gunman in Connecticut had only killed himself in his bedroom with his mom's pistol, gun control would not have been considered a relevant topic. The death of that young man would not have made the news, much less become a point of global conversation. But because he killed his mother, children, and school staff in cold blood, something must be done. The trouble is, man cannot agree on what to do.
The surefire answer for the ills of sin that plague this entire world does not solely rest in government reform, additional laws, better medicine, education, even wealth distribution, the justice system, or religions of the world. What people need is a relationship with the Living God of the Bible through faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing has changed: God is perfect and all powerful, man has rebelled from Him and chosen his own path, and Jesus has been sent to seek and save the lost. He lay down His life and rose up again proving His divinity and power over sin, death, and hell. Jesus is the only One powerful enough to transform the depraved mind of man and cleanse his heart from sin. Man is evil, but God is not. Many men have made a mockery of supposed Christianity through their wickedness, but Jesus Christ remains righteous, pure, and untainted. Blame the cursed Crusades on religion if you want, but Christ had nothing to do with them. Blame brutal beheadings and tragic mass suicides on religion too, yet Jesus was not the cause. When Peter took a swing with a sword in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus commanded him to put it in his sheath. He restored the man's ear that was cut off with His divine touch. That is what God will do for us if we will put down our swords and quit fighting with God and one another. That is when healing for individuals and society can begin.
Jesus Christ is more than a model. Religion looks to Christ as a model to be copied, but being born again by the Holy Spirit through faith allows Jesus Christ to live out His life through you. We can go through the motions of life with the appearance of uprightness, but we must still contend with our monstrously wicked hearts. There is no hope for us originating in ourselves or this world. There is none who is good, no not one. The only one who is good is God! We all need forgiveness and grace. It is through God we learn what love looks like. It is only in His strength and power that we can walk in His love. Isn't God's love what we all admire and need? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 reads, "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails." Nothing can separate a Christian from the love of Christ, and we are more than conquerors through Him.
It has been said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The trouble is, all the prevention in the world cannot stop criminals from doing what they do. More cameras, restrictive laws, armed guards, bullet proof-glass, education, and awareness provide no guarantee as adequate safeguards against violence. Everyone has opinions about what needs to change in our world. If our solution to the problem only addresses the symptoms, we will never be free from the trouble. The problems the world is facing today are way bigger than government legislation or gun control. There has been gun control in varying degrees for decades in the United States. Would more gun control prevent future gun-related tragedies? Maybe. If the gunman in Connecticut had only killed himself in his bedroom with his mom's pistol, gun control would not have been considered a relevant topic. The death of that young man would not have made the news, much less become a point of global conversation. But because he killed his mother, children, and school staff in cold blood, something must be done. The trouble is, man cannot agree on what to do.
The surefire answer for the ills of sin that plague this entire world does not solely rest in government reform, additional laws, better medicine, education, even wealth distribution, the justice system, or religions of the world. What people need is a relationship with the Living God of the Bible through faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing has changed: God is perfect and all powerful, man has rebelled from Him and chosen his own path, and Jesus has been sent to seek and save the lost. He lay down His life and rose up again proving His divinity and power over sin, death, and hell. Jesus is the only One powerful enough to transform the depraved mind of man and cleanse his heart from sin. Man is evil, but God is not. Many men have made a mockery of supposed Christianity through their wickedness, but Jesus Christ remains righteous, pure, and untainted. Blame the cursed Crusades on religion if you want, but Christ had nothing to do with them. Blame brutal beheadings and tragic mass suicides on religion too, yet Jesus was not the cause. When Peter took a swing with a sword in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus commanded him to put it in his sheath. He restored the man's ear that was cut off with His divine touch. That is what God will do for us if we will put down our swords and quit fighting with God and one another. That is when healing for individuals and society can begin.
Jesus Christ is more than a model. Religion looks to Christ as a model to be copied, but being born again by the Holy Spirit through faith allows Jesus Christ to live out His life through you. We can go through the motions of life with the appearance of uprightness, but we must still contend with our monstrously wicked hearts. There is no hope for us originating in ourselves or this world. There is none who is good, no not one. The only one who is good is God! We all need forgiveness and grace. It is through God we learn what love looks like. It is only in His strength and power that we can walk in His love. Isn't God's love what we all admire and need? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 reads, "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails." Nothing can separate a Christian from the love of Christ, and we are more than conquerors through Him.
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