Today, Friday, Dec. 14, a horrible tragedy is unfolding. As I write this they won’t say how many but a large number of students and staff have been murdered at a Connecticut elementary school. As I listen to the reporter on the radio conveying information about this tragedy I can hear his voice crack. I can see the tears streaming down his face even though I can only hear his voice. I can feel the tears rolling down my cheek. There are some things so tragic that even men get to cry.
There will be many questions after this horror. People will ask why it happened and what could have been done to stop it. My guess is that these questions will never be answered in a satisfactory way. But in the coming days they will be asked by people who have more than just heard of these events on the radio. These questions will be asked by people who have lost their children to a mad man. I pity the pastors who will have to hear those questions and try to lead their flock. I am also reminded that before 9:30 this morning the pastors of Newtown, Conn., might have felt the same way. We live on a razor’s edge.
Will Baker
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When incidents like this occur my mind often turns to the horrific event of Oct. 2, 2006, in the Amish community of Nickel Mines, Pa., where a gunman shot 10 young girls, killing 5, before taking his own life.
What sets this incident apart, though, is the way in which the community responded to the attack. They didn’t lash out. They didn’t sue his wife and family into oblivion. Instead a grandfather of the victims was heard warning younger relatives not to hate the killer. A father was heard thinking of the murderer’s wife and children. This tight-knit community forgave completely and loved overwhelmingly. They went to the murderer’s family and held them as they cried.
Don’t dismiss their response because they are Amish. The Amish are just people like you and me. What the Amish do that is so very important is to live their lives in close relationship with God. When I think of how I would react if someone were to hurt either of my 11-month-old twins I’m afraid my thoughts aren’t particularly pure. My guess is neither were the thoughts of the Amish that day. But the Amish were so invested in their relationship with God that they could trust him with the judgment. This left them free to respond in love.
Our response to tragedy, big and small, is the only thing we can control. And that response, much like the response of the Amish, will be determined by how we live our everyday lives. When we respond to something small, we invest ourselves in that response. It’s preparation for the big event. When we think about Jesus we tend to focus on the big stuff like Christmas and the Cross. But there are quite a few chapters between those big events. Read through them and you find Jesus pouring out his love out in small but significant ways. Every act of mercy and forgiveness was a preparation for the crashing flood of love that would be unleashed upon the Cross.
“Where you invest your love, you invest your life.” Marcus Oliver and Jo Mumford wrote those words in their song Awake My Soul. In that song they also wrote this: “You were made to meet your maker.”
Today those children and educators met their maker far too soon. Regrettably life, even under the best conditions, is so very short. So love everyone you can, in a way that is real, for all you are worth. Make a conscious and serious decision to put loving your family, friends and community first. Invest yourself in that. Build up treasures in heaven that will last through the love you pour out. Heaven is the only investment bank Jesus Christ trusted and he’s the savviest investor to ever live. He invested his life in you.
Will Baker ([email protected]) is pastor of Drummondtown Baptist Church in Accomac, Va.