Good Saturday morning! As I sit here preparing to write the devotional, a photo of the man suspected in killing so many children at a youth camp in Norway is staring back at me. I am wondering of course what is it in the photo I expect to see. Horns are not growing out of the sides of his head in the photo, although the funny little beard thing does kind of suggest horns. He does not have pointy ears, evidence of a forked tail, or even a mean look about him. He is dressed well and though not smiling, he certainly isn't glowering at the camera. He is described by some as a farmer, which at times in the past might be reason to go over the edge, but farmers are doing well right now. What causes a man to kill?
The man responsible for the Arizona shooting spree had a 'psycho' look about him, but the photo was taken after the crime. I suspect the look had been carefully cultivated, but that's just my suspicion. The tragic thing, as I write about yet another mass murderer, is that we cannot look at a person and see a multiple murder in his eyes or countenance. At least so far, no photo that I have seen would have led me to jump up and say, "They should have known about that guy!" God alone can look inside a mind or heart and know what is going to happen.
On a Saturday I often like to write a less serious devotional, but yesterday's events in Norway cannot be passed over so easily. Worse, the man claimed to be a Christian on his Facebook page. Of course we know that anyone can check mark the little boxes and claim to be any religion they wish. No one gets to review the choices and say, "Hey, he cannot claim that!" If you know a friend is misrepresenting his religion you can make a post, but the claim will stand. On the other hand, we shouldn't simply dismiss the claim.
Any of us can give into the despair and doubt when we depend upon our own strength without the power of prayer. We all have times in our past where we have gone our own way in opposition to the guidance of the Spirit and fallen flat into sin. We have all rebelled against God even after giving our lives to Jesus. The man may very well have been a Christian, but somehow and somewhere he began listening to fears, doubts, little dark whispers in the ear of the mind that fed the despair until he took up a weapon and took lives with it. We want to say, "No way!" but we all know that our own thinking isn't always centered on Christ as it should be. We also know that head injuries, disease, and various drugs can affect thinking in drastic ways. I'm not seeking to make excuses for this awful crime, only to remind us that we don't know everything. A crime of this magnitude might cause us to wonder how it can serve God's plan for us and the world. I can only say that I do not know that either. As for me, I will go forward in faith in Christ Jesus, and in the hope of His return.
Bucky
No comments:
Post a Comment