When my children were little one of the summer VBS themes was:
Who's the answer? Jesus is!
There was no theme song - - so I wrote one:
What's the question? Who's the answer?
What's the answer? Jesus is!
Jesus is, Jesus is, Jesus is, Jesus is!
When my life is dark and dreary
Who's the answer? Jesus is!
When I'm feeling weak and weary
Who's the answer? Jesus is!
Jesus is, Jesus is, Jesus is, Jesus is!
What's the question? Who's the answer?
What's the answer? Jesus is!
And He is! Jesus is the answer to all of life's longings, all of life's needs. He doesn't just hold the keys to our future - - He is the key!
He is the One I run to when I don't understand why the world has gone topsy-turvy. This was one of those weeks. Sunday morning while I was worshipping in my own church, the majority of the congregation in a little white Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas was gunned down by a madman, and people ask, "Where was God?" The answer: He was there! He was with them as 25 people took their last breath. He was with that little unborn baby boy who was the 26th life ended, and he is still with them in eternity where they have gone to their final home. He is with those who are grieving, those who are recuperating in the nearby hospitals, and those who wonder how they can go on after such horrific loss.
But go on they must. If they don't the madman wins. When we succumb to fear and insanity we lose.
There is no rhyme or reason to this. He had threatened his mother-in-law, but she wasn't even in the church on Sunday when he went with killing on his agenda.
The tragedy touches all of us. If it could happen there, it could happen anywhere....
However, in our shocked reactions the outcry against guns is the wrong response. He would have found a way - - whether with a pressure kettle bomb or some other means. People kill. Guns are just one of the options as a tool for achieving their goal. Having said that, I do believe magazines that hold more than 8 rounds of ammunition should be outlawed. I believe in having guns for hunting and self-defense - - but being able to discharge interminable numbers of bullets from an automatic rifle is absolutely unnecessary in my opinion. Still, if law-abiding citizens do not have that kind of guns, the criminals still will.... And that's the dilemma.
We should enforce our already tight gun laws. We should have a better system of reporting and flagging individuals who should not be able to purchase guns legally. We, as citizens, should report people who seem "off" and who should be red-flagged as a concern.
This is not just the Texans' problem, it is America's problem. It is something that has to be addressed...but for now, we mourn. In this and other killing incidents we have witnessed horrific carnage and totally unnecessary loss of life.
The only sliver of silver lining in the dark cloud that hangs over Sutherland Springs is that their loved ones are with Jesus.... And He is with those who loved them in their pain as they mourn. Beauty will come from the ashes. Right now that is hard to fathom, but the beginning of that was the heart-rending report of the young mother who shielded her children's bodies with hers, giving up her life to spare theirs. That's what Jesus did. He gave up his life to spare ours. The promise of a perfect life is not for this world, but the next - - if we only let Him in.
We must all forge ahead - - continuing to go to church, continuing to help others in need, continuing to be a community of believers who bear each other's burdens, continuing to place our faith in God.
