As I am trying to deal with the crushing agony of yet another mass shooting of innocent school children in Texas this week, I am trying to make sense of something that absolutely does not make sense. We tend to label such acts as senseless, which they certainly are, but it is far more than that. Considering the big picture, the overall landscape of reality, how did this happen? How did we set ourselves up for this to happen? How did we get to this degree of evil in our beloved country? How far have we fallen from God's blessing and grace that such a thing could even be imagined in this United States of America? I am heartbroken for the loss of life, the grieving parents, and grandparents. Fractured families that will never be the same. Siblings that are forever traumatized. The amount of trauma therapy needed, as if any amount could possibly help, is beyond my comprehension. Where do we start to try and figure this out? Where do we go and to whom do we go for help? Where is God?

The simple answer, the quick answer, the opportunistic go-to answer for our godless culture is “gun control.” WRONG. Absolutely WRONG!! A gun did not kill those 19 children and two adults. A person with a gun and sin-sick heart killed those children and adults. But where was God?

Police officers stood helplessly around hesitating to go in as it happened. (Think fight, flight, freeze) Where was God? Parents trustingly sent their precious third and fourth graders to school last Tuesday with only a few days left of this school year. Families were making summer plans. Politicians were tracking midterm election results and fighting with each other. But where was GOD -- the GOD we talk about on our money, “In GOD we trust.” Where was He?

He was right there all the time. Maybe He even ushered those precious children into His presence that day. Maybe He bid them come to Him to rescue them from the unspeakable evil happening around them.

But we have expelled Him from our schools, our homes, our government, our country. We have murdered over 63 million defenseless babies since 1973 through abortion. We, as a country, have turned our back on God and His laws. We have kicked Him out of our lives and told Him in every viable way that we do not want to have anything to do with Him. We can get along just fine without God. Really? Every time God sends us a reminder that we are not doing “just fine,” we ignore it and blame something absurd -- like gun control. I wonder how gun control would actually work. I suggest that it would work in favor of those who illegally have access to guns and use them to commit violent crimes. Instead, how about controlling what goes into our minds and our children’s minds. How about a collective outcry against violent movies, violent video games, and violent social media and entertainment in general. Our minds are being bombarded daily by ungodliness. Our brain is a like a computer. What goes in will come out. Daily we must choose and control what goes in.

And yet we will move on somehow from this moment. The Columbine High School Massacre (as it has been named) in Colorado occurred on April 20, 1999. I was near graduation from my Marriage and Family Therapy graduate program at Bethel Seminary at the time, and I remember discussing the shooting in ethics class one day. I remember talking in class about it being a wakeup call and all psychological factors which could have contributed to such an evil outcome. According to abcnews.go.com, there have been 14 mass shootings at US schools since the Columbine massacre. The 14 school shootings have killed a total of 169 victims. There have been other mass shootings as well. Wakeup call? Apparently, we are not awake yet .It makes me wonder what America’s ultimate wakeup call will be. What will it take to turn our hearts back to God?

As we remember those who have fought and died for our country this Memorial Day, let us take time to remember and honor the God of the Bible -- the God of our founding fathers, the God of our “one nation under God.”

Always praying and trusting Jesus,

Elsie

“………Thus, God has said, ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord and do not prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has also forsaken you.’” (II Chronicles 24:20 NASB)