Virginia Tech

I am copying and article I wrote for my churches weekly newsletter. Those who happen to read this blog might find some help in these words.


I know that you will not receive this message until Wednesday evening or Thursday but as I write for this weeks newsletter I am still somewhat stunned by the events at Virginia Tech University. We will be holding a special time of prayer on Tuesday evening for those who lost their lives and their families. This is a tragedy beyond comprehension. I think that only thing that comes close are the attacks of 9/11. How can any individual walk into a room full of people, innocent people and open fire indiscriminately killing all they can? It just doesn't make sense. Yet it happens and even though it does not happen on quite the scale of this sadly this is not so much of an isolated event.

I am sure that the question will be asked, "How could God allow this to happen?" Or stronger yet,. "If there really is a God how could He allow this?" Honestly the answer is not hard but it is not the answer that many want. The answer is that although God has not set this world spinning and then gone off to attend to other business or worse yet, gone to sit in His recliner watching it spin out of control. God is not off on that "distant star" but He is an intimate and involved God. Unfortunately in some ways for us God has chosen to make us people with a free moral will. That simply means that as much as these events break the heart of our Creator He cannot manipulate events without turning us into a huge miniature train set. If God removed our free will we would just become nothing more than a model train set that God used for His amusement. That is not what the Bible teaches us. From the very beginning He has given us the right to chose to ignore Him and to do whatever pleases us no matter how wrong it might be. But He has also given us the capacity to chose to do what is right and to honor and glorify Him. Of course this cannot happen apart from a personal relationship with His son Jesus Christ. You see, the hope of our world is still Jesus. I am sure that in the aftermath of today's crisis there will be calls for more gun legislation. Sadly there are those who mistakenly feel that more laws will change people's behaviors, it will not. Those who chose to live moral and ethical lives don't need more laws, it is the law breakers who need the laws and yet they are the ones who ignore those laws that were made to curb their sinful lives.

I know that it will sound far to simplistic for some but I will say it again, Jesus is the Answer! I think it was St. Augustine who said that our hearts cannot be at rest until they find rest in Him (God). People will go on senselessly killing others with guns or words until the sin that invades our hearts is removed and only Jesus Christ can effect that removal. Until then we as God's people must continue to be the salt and light of this world. We must continue to, without shame or reservation proclaim the saving power of Jesus to a world desperately lost in the darkness.

I am sure that everyone reading this has already, but will continue to join me in prayer for those who are left behind to deal with this most tragic lose. Even in this God's grace is sufficient. As I have been saying repeatedly the past weeks in my preaching, "For every human need there is a supernatural resource to meet that need." God is that resource and He wants to make Himself available to all who need Him.

Sincerely,
Pastor Sheldon