I don’t cry often. A few times a year is really about all that this phenomenon occurs. But today, I am incredibly sad.
Sundays are always very busy for me. I get up in the morning and make the preparations that I need to lead music and teach Sunday School at our small country church. Our family will do our Bible Study together, just like every other day, and then get ready to go to church. Then we take a few hours and relax a bit before headed to the choir rehearsal that my wife leads. We spend time with friends and family on Sundays…our time is just full that day. So, it wasn’t until this morning that my wife and I really got to watch the news coverage of the shooting in Sutherland Springs Texas.
The scene was terrifying. The church I go to now is a bit larger than the one that was shot on Sunday, but really not by a lot. I have served at a church that was the size of First Baptist Church Sutherland Texas and it just shook me to witness what had occurred there yesterday. And it just reminded me of the way that I need to respond to such tragedy.
Weep With Those Who Weep
It would take me quite a while to drive to Sutherland Texas, but all who have trusted in Christ are my brothers and sisters in Him. The pain and sorrow that exists there because of this will continue. When people both young and old are stuck in a small church building and shot like fish in a barrel the trauma will be more than just the physical death and families picking up pieces of their lives. I can’t imagine how long it’s going to take for, these adults and young children to even sleep through the night. Moms and Dads who have lost their spouses are trying to figure out how they are going to go on while explaining to their children how they won’t see their parent again.
Sorrow and mourning is the right response to this.
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”-Romans 12:15 ESV
Praying, writing cards to the folks at this church, and finding out what these folks need and helping them are all appropriate responses.
In this moment, we ought to weep with those who weep.
This Age Is One Where Evil Resides
Our culture has a hard time understanding how something like this could happen. As Christians, we are able to name the problem (evil), tell where it came from (Adam’s sin), and inform people that there is One who has come and conquered evil for us (Jesus). We understand that wickedness resides in this world and will until Christ returns.
We tend to personalize the work of Christ so much that we don’t understand the global impact of sin. Everyone everywhere is marred by the stain of sin. This manifests itself in people in very different ways. The guy who shot up a church had already exhibited signs of his own corruption. Anger and violence had already been a part of his life as was seen in the abuse of his family. One person is addicted to porn. One person is a drug or alcohol abuser. One person lives a seemingly good life but is filled with all sorts of sin and arrogance. This guy, likely through a combination of his own sin and having been sinned against was incredibly violent and wicked. This doesn’t actually help us to understand why he would commit the horror that he committed, but it does help us to understand where this sort of evil originates.
We live in an age where evil resides. The pure horror of mass shootings is becoming commonplace in America’s national news. It is a reminder that we live in an age where evil resides.
We Long For The Age To Come
There is, however, a day coming when these things will never again occur. Christ has come and conquered sin and death through His perfect life, sacrificial death on the cross, and His resurrection. This past event has secured Christ’s victory over sin and death, but we await the Age to Come when the effect of that victory will be complete.
Christ has conquered sin and death, but for now, we live in an age where sin and death still surround us. When Christ returns life changes. Mass murderers who killed themselves to avoid facing justice will receive the justice that they so deserve. And all those who are God’s people for all time will live with Him in a place where there is no sorrow. Not only are there no mass murders, but there are no murders or even anger or hatred. The things of this sinful age will give way to the Age to Come.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of Godis with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. – Revelation 21:3-4 ESV
Concluding Thoughts
I am filled with sorrow as I finish this post. But I am also filled with hope. It is a sure hope that one day I will worship with those who both died and survived this horror on Sunday. That hope is sure because of the finished work of Christ. And that is reason to hope, even in the midst of weeping.
R. Dwain Minor
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