Changes are coming

This weekend’s massacre has moved me

I never think twice about it. And since we live only about two or three miles from our local grocery store, it happens almost every other day. I’ll be sitting at home working, or in the yard, or watching football on TV, and Jenny will yell to me, “Running to Meijer (our grocery store of choice), be right back!” We exchange “Love you”s and I hear the door shut.

I’m not ignorant of the fact that any given moment can be our last on earth. But to be honest, on a list of risky or dangerous human activities, going to the grocery store isn’t ranked very high. Which is why I’m confident that when those 10 people headed to the Tops grocery store Saturday afternoon in Buffalo, NY, none of them had any idea that they wouldn’t be coming home.

I’m assuming most of you are at least aware of the fact that another “mass shooting” occurred, after an 18-year-old, self-proclaimed white supremacist, searched out black neighborhoods, chose one, dressed in body armor, and began live-streaming his wrath. It’s also possible that you’ve become aware that scrawled on the rifle he used to perpetrate the violence was the name of at least one of the victims of the Waukesha, WI Christmas parade massacre.

“Virginia Sorenson” was the name visible on the Buffalo shooter’s gun in one of the screenshots from his livestream. Sorenson was the 79-year-old who was one of the 5 killed when a different racist plowed over the predominantly white parade performers, many of whom were children.

So, manifestos and “expert analysis” aside, it seems fairly apparent what has occurred: one act of racial hatred provided motivation for another. And between the two, at least 15 are dead and countless others are forever devastated.

My mind goes in two different directions with these converging stories. First, I’m pulled towards prayer for those who are hurting so badly. Unimaginable loss, unimaginable pain, unimaginable confusion and surely anger. How do you pick up the pieces from something like this and even attempt to move on when your whole world has forever changed so abruptly and so fundamentally? I’d say it’s my biggest nightmare, but I think it’s surely most all of our biggest nightmares.

Only the peace that passes all understanding can help here, so I’m praying hard that God will bring someone who knows and loves Him into the path of these hurting souls.

Second, I’m just angry at how much hate there is in the world. Racism? Of course. And racism has to be the stupidest and laziest of all reasons to hate another. Biblically, there is one blood, one race. Hating someone because of the relative amount of melanin in their skin cells is, well stupid.

The logic of racial hatred also breaks down when you consider the genetic blending that has happened generationally. There are people who are half-black, half-white. Do white supremacists only hate them partially? There are people who are 1/8th white, 5/8th Hispanic, 1/4th black. What does a racist do with them? Trace it back far enough (Noah, anyone?) and we all have intermixing of blood lines and ethnicities. So again, it’s exceedingly dumb to hate someone based on such inborn characteristics.

But the stupidity and evil of the racial motivation aside, I’m just so tired of the hatred. It’s everywhere. Hatred over race, hatred over politics, hatred over jealousies, hatred over money, hatred over history. It’s the handiwork of Satan and he is relentless in his sewing of discord and pain.

That’s why events of this weekend have renewed my interest and my commitment to being Christ’s agent of hope in this evil world, undermining the darkness with the light of God’s love. Love in the face of hate. It’s why we’ve been called…for such a time as this. Rebellion against Satan, Christ’s great campaign of sabotage…I hope you’re in too.

Along those lines, there are some changes I’m making. I’ve never done what I’m about to do before. But I hope it will be worth it – for you, for me, and for our shared cause. I’ll have details for you shortly. Until then, pray for the hurting, and pray for the opportunity to be His faithful servant of hope. The world desperately needs it.

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ICYMI…

Here’s the message I preached this Sunday on living a life of full surrender to Christ. Hope it can be a blessing to you.

And if you have the time, here are a couple columns I wrote last week you might like:

• Wait, WHO has it in for cartoon characters?

• We have such an impoverished view of “diversity”