Good Monday morning, good n' cold that is! We are only just above the 0 mark and the wind chill is not something to take for granted this morning. Our prayers go out to the Honorable Gabrielle Giffords today and those injured in the shooting down in Arizona. You will see a lot of guessing in the news today; guessing about the reason or reasons why the man aimed and pulled the trigger so many times; killing six persons and wounding 14 others. Another group of people to pray for this morning is the police officers who this morning are probably second guessing a lot of things about the incident. Another group will be the relatives and friends of those hurt and killed. Many of them might be asking "Why?" of God at this very moment. We don't know all the reasons God allows actions of this type, but we do know that He was there. Just like God was there when His Son died on the Cross at Golgatha.
One thing we can pick up in our Bibles and in history is that God does allow people to choose to kill and hurt other people. Certainly God could step in to stop all of these things, and I believe that our Lord very much desires to have the pain and sorrow come to an end. We must remember God's eternal view, and the importance God places on the life of every person; the eternal life, not just the part we see here on this earth. All of us have been hurt in this life, but today I am reminded of Ezekiel 9 where God tells the executioners to spare no one in the city. However, before the execution takes place, God sends a man clothed in linen to pass through Jerusalem and place a mark on the forehead of all those who sign and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it. The executioners sent by God are to spare those with the mark of the scribe on their foreheads.
The phrase that stuck in my mind this morning after reading about this incident throughout the weekend is: Those who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed. That pretty much describes us when we read about incidents such as this one in Arizona. The murder and hurting of so many can only be seen as an abomination. Groaning in sorrow over this seems entirely appropriate. The action of one man has given us a reason to love those we don't even know. If you think I mean the shooter, you would be wrong. The action of Jesus on the cross and in our hearts gives us the means to love those we do not know. Speaking of the shooter, how do you feel toward him this morning?
When I first heard the story, I wanted to be the judge who reminded the murderer of the Word of God in Exodus 21:12: "Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death." Of course, the Holy Spirit would remind me of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. For the Law also says that adulterers should die. Yet Jesus forgave her and did not put her to death. Should I then be quick to forgive one who has committed this atrocity? Certainly, just as Jesus made no exceptions when he forgave me all of my sins. Does this mean that the murderer walks free as the woman did before Jesus? No, I think not. As Paul stated: "For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to [execute] wrath upon him that doeth evil." In speaking of rulers or governments, Paul reminded us that the duty of the government is to execute judgment on the evildoer. While you and I personally are to stay away from judgment and be quick to forgive even in such a case as this, any of us might also be called to serve on a jury where we would be bound to act as agent for the ruler.
When we have a time such as this, when we cry out for justice and yet seek the power of the Spirit in our hearts to find forgiveness there, we can take comfort from what the tribulation saints are told in Revelation 6:9-11:
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
Trust in God and wait on Him,
Bucky
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