What do you say on a day like today?
Predictably, many are calling for stricter gun control in America – that is a given every time there is a shooting like this. Why does anyone need the firepower to cause this kind of damage?- Others will be talking about mental illness. Stephen Paddock must have snapped. His brother says there was absolutely nothing in his life that would have given anyone the idea that he was capable of something like this. What led a man to such unspeakable evil?
- Someone will point out that our “fifteen minutes of fame” culture has led people to seek to go out in a flame of glory. If they can’t be rich and famous for good things, they are content for their names to live forever in infamy.
- We who believe the Bible will frame the debate in redemptive terms – the human heart is filled with sin and needs Jesus Christ. But there is a risk there. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but even most sinners don’t go to that place. Sometimes, the serpent of Eden rages and evil floods the earth.
There is something in us that wants answers, an explanation, someone or something to blame. We don’t want to believe that we are in danger at a ball game or a concert. This cannot be true. Its America and this can’t happen here.
But this is the world we live in and there are no easy answers and there are no easy solutions and there are no simple scapegoats. This sin-cursed, fallen world will continue to be sin-cursed and fallen until the Savior rides out of heaven as King of kings and Lord of lords. We will continue to see things that make our heads swim and our hearts break.
We will likely never understand why Mr. Paddock did that. God did not explain the details of his encounter with Satan to Job, he just called Job to trust him. When Habakkuk called out to God for understanding, God called Habakkuk to trust. We believe in a God whose workings we do not understand. Even with the world falling apart around us, with confused minds, and grieving hearts, we walk by faith when we cannot see the way.
There is little we can do at this point, but we have brothers and sisters on the ground in Vegas and we can pray for them. The churches and Christians of Las Vegas can (and I am sure will) minister in the name of Christ to the hundreds of people affected by this tragedy.
We will post nothing else at SBC Voices today.
