This week began with the news of the horrible events at Virginia Tech. Such senseless violence is incomprehensible. My first thought when I heard the news of the massacre of 32 people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time when Cho Seung Hui mercilessly took their lives was, "How could any human being do such a thing?" I don't think I'm the only person to have reacted that way. I suspect that most people in our country have had that thought. Of course, that question arises from people who have been morally educated and trained to hate this kind of violence--rightly so.
But, after a few moments, when I had thought about it some more, I came to realize that my question was misguided. From the perspective of a Christian worldview, a better question has to be: "How come I haven't done this kind of horrible violence?" The Bible teaches that all of us are sinners from birth (Ps. 51:5, Eph. 2:1-3) and that deep down in our hearts, apart from the saving work of Christ, there lies a spirit of rebellion against God, a spirit of perversity and violence no less malevolent than that exhibited by Cho Seung Hui (see Rom 3:10ff.).
I have come to realize, then (and I hope the readers do to), that an appropriate response to the Virginia Tech massacre--after the response of outrage and sympathy--is: "There but for the grace of God go I."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Amen! And we are reminded as well of the restraining grace of God that commonly extends to all men lest we see this sort of event daily.
Post a Comment