It would be easy to be in denial today with a sense that all is well with the world. Yet after the tragic events at VA. Tech on Monday, followed by a rash of copycat threats at schools and offices, and then culminating with the tragedy at the Johnson Space Center yesterday, one cannot help but feel the birth pangs of a world sickened by sin.

My heart aches as I can barely comprehend the grief of these families of bright and promising sons and daughters whose lives were cut short. In an instant, their lives are forever changed. And then I think of the unimaginable anguish of the shooter’s family. Not only did they lose their son, but they are faced with nightmarish remorse over his actions.

For weeks to come we will hear speculation about how these tragedies could be avoided. Gun control? Arming teachers? More security on school campuses?

A thoughtful commentary on a blog I read yesterday said this, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” It’s the condition of our hearts that leads us down dangerous, destructive paths. Only God can change hearts, but we have to be willing to change, to surrender, to lay down what we perceive as our rights, what we think we deserve or what is owed us.

If each person’s heart were tender toward the Lord, well, we wouldn’t be living in this world, would we? I remind myself that this is not my home. I’m only passing through, and even though I long for a place where there isn’t heartache and pain, I must realize that planet Earth will never fit the bill.

Here is my comfort and hope: “‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15: 55-57

Amen and amen. May we all find comfort in His finished work.

Blessings,

Deb