I think most Americans
on Friday went about their business with a sense of sadness in their
hearts. The horrible shooting in Aurora, Colorado, early that morning is
beyond words. Who can grasp the reality of sitting in a movie theatre,
enjoying the film in one minute, and then, the next minute, a door crashes
open, some sort of noxious gas begins to fill the room, and, before you know
it, shots ring out. This is but one example of the evil that lingers in
some troubled hearts in this world.
What is the cause of
this terrible tragedy? I'm not sure anyone can say for certain.
This is far too complicated for simple explanations. To say that it is
mental illness seems too easy. Obviously there is evil involved, but
that, too, is not the complete answer.
The suspect taken into
custody looks like anyone of us. When you look at his picture, he doesn't
look like he's lived on the fringe. He was studying neuroscience.
Yet, somewhere in his sick mind, he decided to kill in a very dramatic
fashion.
What has become of a
society that once stood for family values and solid morals? We have
disintegrated into a culture of narcissistic pleasure seekers who get their
thrills from extremes. In one sense, however, what do we expect? We
are a society that legally sanctions the killing of the unborn. A number
of states permit assisted suicide. A few states now allow what is called
gay "marriage" with many others now seriously considering it.
We have turned our backs
on God, relying, not on His will, but our own flawed, feeble will. We are
slowly converting the government, the state, into our moral compass, leaving
the precepts laid down by God behind. We have lost our way and we have
gone so far down that path that I fear we are at a point of no return.
Those of us who adhere to the teachings of Jesus Christ are ridiculed and
ignored, being seen as irrelevant. Our voices are drowned out by those
who consider their moral depravities as "compassionate." The resulting
decay of the family is the result of all of this. Without the family, the
traditional family, individuals can more easily drift into dangerous thought
patterns that often are acted upon simply because we have come to understand
that we must accept everything in the name of diversity.
Prayer is our response
to this tragedy. Prayer is the most powerful thing anyone can do.
We need to bring a once great nation whose very existence was based upon
principles set forth by a loving and merciful God. Every society, every
culture in history that has strayed from these principles have found their
nations crumbling at the altar of secularism.
Pray. Pray for the
repose of the souls called home to God in the early hours of this Friday.
Pray that a nation will turn its heart around and find its way back to the Will
of the Father. And pray for all those lost souls who are heading toward
violent acts that someone may care enough to intervene before they strike.
