OOhhh! I feel such anguish. What a tragic, tremendous loss occurred in the US today! There are more details to come, I'm sure, but the basic report is: a young man shot his father, then shot his mother and dozens of little children at a primary school.
The news and facebook and twitter feeds are filled with venting, hurting, crying, and opinions, lots and lots of opinions.... Here in Australia, "Isn't it about time for America to tighten gun control?" , in the Midwest, "Children could have been protected if staff were allowed to have guns in schools.", and "This would not have happened if we had God and Bibles in our schools."
And while all of these points will be the mud trudging in days to come, my personal heaviness lies with the young shooter, Adam Lanza. I feel so deeply sad and sorry for him. Don't get me wrong, I know that sweet, little, innocent babes were murdered at his hands, parents are mourning, and other innocent children and teachers have to learn to deal with the memory of this tragic event.
I used to be the teacher of a pre-k class. I LOVE little children! I love being around that limitless imagination, cheerful chatter, and trusting hearts. But think on this, Adam used to be one of those children.
What happened? How could such darkness be inside of him? People who hurt, hurt people. Did anyone know how deeply he was hurt? Did anyone try to help him?? Did he have no hope or vision for a good future? Who hurt him? What was he like as a child? What dreams did his parents have for him? Was he loved well? Was he ever introduced to the love and freedom that is offered by Christ??
I can't help but be reminded about the story of the good Samaritan. See, there was man (a Jew) traveling along the road when he was met by thieves who stripped him and left him half dead. Then traveling were some religious men, they pretended not to notice, walking on the other side and leaving him for dead. Then came a Samaritan (who were enemies of Jews) and he had compassion on the man, soothing him and binding up his wounds then he took him somewhere to get care and paid for it!
We as the church should conduct ourselves similarly. Value the lives of people who are a mess. Pray for them. Point them in the direction of help and hope.
There is such hurt in the earth today (The name Adam means earth)and the only remedy is this: LOVE.
