Each time as I prepare for these offering messages, I sit and ask the Lord what I am to say. He kept bringing me back to the same topic this week.
Within the past week, we have seen once again the tragedy of our broken world, our society in disarray, and the folly of our decisions in moral correctness. One young man taking the lives of 17 others. But it wasn’t just in Parkland, Florida where tragedies occurred. Under the radar of the media, other atrocities occurred as well.
I’d like to read an excerpt from Darrell Scott’s testimony to the House Judiciary Committee subcommittee investigating the Columbine shooting. Darrell’s daughter, Rachel Scott, was killed at Columbine.
Darrell Scott stated, “I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy — it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.
Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You’ve stripped away our heritage,
You’ve outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question “Why?”
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!
“Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation’s history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine’s tragedy occurs — politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.”
End of quote
Darrell Scott told the subcommittee straight-up what the answer is. He pinpointed the problem. He could not have been any more clear. Yet, we blame the gun. We blame the NRA. We blame the people who belong to and support the NRA. We blame the second amendment to our Constitution. We blame government because “they haven’t done anything.” We blame everyone and everything except the real cause. We NEVER blame ourselves.
Folks, we continually skirt the real issue. We talk about gun control, guards and metal detectors in the schools, bullying, and what our government should do. None of those are the answers. The real answer sits squarely on our shoulders. On Us. What am I going to do about this? What are you going to do about this situation?
Will you reach out to your neighbor, to that loner that no one likes and befriend him? Will you associate with the socially-awkward or backward person who doesn’t have a friend? Will you talk to that person who seems to be angry at the world. To the bitter person whose life has not turned out the way they expected or wanted. Many of these shooters are just kids, children of school age. How could life have dealt them such a bad hand so early on?
We can discuss violent video games that devalue life. We could even outlaw them (I’m not saying that would be a bad idea, but it still doesn’t solve the real issue). We can talk about violent movies and TV shows. We can talk about the media we watch that devalues the family structure, puts down men, women, authority, etc. We can talk about the lack of discipline. We can discuss the lack of respect.
We can reason about the anarchy mindset and society’s support of relativism where what is right for me is right and what is right for you even though they are diametrically opposites. We can discuss there is no one way to God and whatever you believe is ok.
But folks, let me put it plainly. It is none of those. Jesus Christ tells us He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. It’s not about a religion. It is about the relationship with the Creator of the universe, the One who made us, the One who knows us better than we know ourselves.
The REAL issue is that void we are all born with and the human nature toward sin, evil and destruction. Only Jesus Christ can fill that void and turn it toward good. No one or thing or substance can fill that void but Jesus Christ.
Jesus say in Matthew 11:29-30 ,”Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Why do we persist in carrying around these heavy burdens of anger, bitterness, strife, etc?
I have it right in my heart because I know the Lord Jesus Christ, but what about the person next to me? Do you have Jesus Christ in your heart? Have you filled that void we all have? What have you filled it with? I know the void is there. I have spoken to enough people to know it is a universal need.
What are you going to do to stop the next shooter? What will you do? Will you reach out to him/her? These are tough and uncomfortable questions. They should disturb our daily lives.
#offeringthoughts
Copyright © 2018 David A. Zimmer, All Rights Reserved.