“Violence... Again.”

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

This past week saw several violent outbursts. Saturday, a man walked into a synagogue and ruthlessly murdered 11 people. On Friday, a man was arrested for mailing at least a dozen explosive devices to major political figures whom he disagreed with. And last Wednesday, our own community was rocked by a demonstration of racism that played out as a double-murder shooting at the Kroger in Jeffersontown.

Why does this kind of thing happen? How should Christians understand events like this? And what should we pray about in response to these things?

Bottom line, these things happen because we live in a broken world. Sin is present, and it has the power to break the human mind so that violence looks like the best option for some. It is the presence of sin that manifests in negative exterior influences and in the internal motivations of each person.

So Christians should respond to these things the same way that God's people always have: by keeping our faith in Him that all of this will eventually be overcome by the grace of God. God will punish evil, he will rescue his faithful ones, and he will be acknowledged by everyone as the sovereign king of time and eternity.

So what should we pray about? We should pray all the more that evil hearts are transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. We should pray for success for those whose job is to put a stop to violence. We should pray for the humility & righteousness to love our neighbors as ourselves (regardless of race or religion). We should thank God for the safety of ourselves and our loved ones when we escape the violence. We should pray that God helps us to love those whom we fear. We should pray for increasing faith and hope in Jesus Christ.

And we should pray for the day when, "at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Phil. 2:10-11)

- Dan Lankford, minister

Share