It's been a few weeks since the horrible shooting in Las Vegas, but I can't get it completely out of my head. A single mass shooting is too many. But here in the U.S. mass shootings happen frequently enough that they hardly surprise me. They scare me; they sadden me; they disgust me. But I can't say I'm surprised any more. I just want to know how many people have died. Thankfully we haven't seen other shootings as deadly as Las Vegas.
I'm worried about the threat of more mass shootings. But I'm also worried that we're getting desensitized to this sort of violence. I'm worried that we'll soon accept that these shootings are part of life—if we haven't already begun to think that way. I think we need to stop and remind ourselves again and again that this is not the way things are supposed to be. This is not the way things have to be. We need to stop and empathize with those who are suffering from these shootings. We should lament the pain that such violence causes. We should cry out to God to ask why so many families are left mourning for a daughter or a son or a sister or a brother or a mother or a father who's died. We should ask how long God will allow our world to continue down this agonizing, violent path.
But I think we should also face the reality of human evil and human violence. We should also examine ourselves. Have we started believing the lies of the world? Have we confused violence with strength? Have we convinced ourselves that we need to be armed to be safe? Have we accepted that guns are a natural part of life? I think that if we follow the Prince of Peace, we need to pray for reformed vision to see the world that Jesus is bringing. When the disciples misunderstood our Lord Jesus and tried to defend Him with swords, He rebuked them. Our God gave Isaiah a vision of a world where swords are beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks, where all the garments of war are burned. God's Spirit scolded those who found their security in military might instead of God.
Now I know God commanded the Israelites to go to war under Joshua and wipe out the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. But that's a one-time thing. God was working out a specific purpose and a specific punishment on those peoples. And really all of the Israelites' wars through the time of David were the slow, full working out of God's special command. And I also know that Revelation describes Jesus returning as a warrior. But in both of these cases God Himself is taking specific action against specific groups. None of us can claim to have God's perspective or God's perfect judgment when it comes to violence. (Plus Jesus comes to fight what is the truly the war that ends all war.)
I'm not naive enough to think that we humans can eliminate violence. I'm not naive enough to think violence and weapons will disappear before Christ returns. But I refuse to believe that the only way to face the threat of guns is with more guns. I refuse to believe that I must arm myself in case violence breaks out around me. I refuse to believe that weapons can give me security. I won't tell you how to vote on gun issues. I won't tell you which position to take in the gun debate in the U.S. I won't tell you whether or not you can have guns or how many guns are too many guns. But I will ask you to reflect on this question: when it comes to guns, weapons, and violence, how can you and how can we live like people whose true citizenship is in heaven, who are journeying toward our home in the renewed world under the reign of the Prince of Peace?
Grace and peace,
BMH
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