This morning, I woke up with my family intact. My wife and two daughters were safe. For many families in Uvalde, Texas, that was not the case. Instead, they woke up to the same horror they experienced yesterday when a lone gunman walked into a local elementary school and murdered at least 19 students and teachers. The shock, pain, grief, anger and disbelief that marked their lives on Tuesday, May 24 carried over to today. What happened yesterday will affect them for the rest of their lives.
Meanwhile, the world tries to move on. Except I can’t. Like a lot of other people in the United States, I’m done with the political machine that keeps promising it’s going to do something to protect children but never delivers. I’m done with all the social media responses to each mass shooting … the “thoughts and prayers” statements and the endless debates that follow.
The last mass murder in an elementary school took place in 2013 at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. I can’t help but think about where those children would be right now. Some were the same age as my youngest daughter. Most would be finishing their first or second year of high school.
How is it possible that we now live in a country where children are not safe at school? Something has certainly changed since I was a kid, growing up in the 1980s. In that era, the thought of a mass murderer going on a killing spree at school never entered our minds. School-related gun violence was present, but mass shootings in school settings were almost unheard of. The worst of that decade took place in 1989 in Stockton, California when a gunman opened fire on an elementary school playground and killed five children and one teacher while wounding 30 others. The gunman then committed suicide. No doubt that shook the nation back then, and yet 30 years later mass shootings in schools continue.
So, how do we who follow Jesus respond to yet another tragic school shooting? What do we do? First, we mourn with those who have lost loved ones. We refuse to count these lives lost as statistics and instead we choose to have empathy with those who are hurting. And, we pray for them. While unbelievers will characterize prayer as lack of action, we know better. The most important thing we can do is pray.
But we don’t just pray for those who are mourning. We also must pray for those who see murdering students and teachers as a way to alleviate their own pain. We must ask God to work in their hearts and help them see how much He loves them, and how much they need Him. And we must continue to reach out with the love of Christ to those around us. We never know when we might be a light to someone who is enveloped in darkness … someone who could be considering violence against others as an answer to their own problems.
And, we must pray for those who are right now seeking solutions through legislation and other actions. We must ask God to guide them to His wisdom and stop seeking their own self-interests. For too long, the political leaders in our country have been more concerned about getting re-elected than they are about doing what is right. It seems obvious that this style of leadership has failed.
Finally, we need to be ready to act as God leads. He just might show us something that will stem the tide of violence in our land. We cannot pretend we are powerless, as if one person cannot make a difference. That is a lie and it makes us feel better about our own inaction. It’s time for us to stop making excuses and get to work. We are to be disciples of Jesus and make disciples of Jesus. As we focus on that primary mission, we will see more people live according to his way, and that in itself will lead to change.
We have an uphill battle. This is a dark world and evil is present. But that doesn’t mean we just throw up our hands and give up. Our world needs the light of Christ. And our world needs Christ working in and through us.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:14–21)
Dan Londeree 