A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.
John 10:10
Sunday I preached from Matthew 5:4, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." We think about this when we lose someone. We ask Him to comfort and He does. Many of us are praying for great loss right now - Las Vegas, New York, Sutherland Springs.
God is not just a comforter for the losses inflicted on us. He's a comforter for our self-inflicted loss - the loss of our relationship with Him and others because of our own choices, our own sin. When we mourn our sin and turn to Christ, He promises to forgive and cleanse. When we are broken about the brokenness and injustice caused by sin in the world, He comforts us, too.
As I watched the story unfold on the news, I was broken. 26 dead and 20 wounded in a church that averaged 50 in attendance. Then I heard that the pastor was not there that Sunday as His daughter and his church family were decimated. Sometimes we say, "I can't imagine." Well, I could. It was too much. I can imagine what it would be like to not be there when this to happened to my family and my church family. That broke me and I spent most of the rest of the day praying and seeking the comfort of God for all impacted by this evil.
All of this happened on the same day thousands of congregations and tens of thousands of believers participated in the National Day Of Prayer For The Persecuted Church. We went to church and prayed for persecuted brothers and sisters around the world, then we came to realize that persecution is not just over there. It is here, too.
First Baptist Sutherland Springs may not have been attacked strictly because of religion, but the evil that empowered the attack on them was the same that empowers all attacks. It's the same evil that empowered the Islamist terrorist who drove a truck through cyclists in New York. It is the same evil that empowered an angry atheist to gun down dozens in Las Vegas. It is the same evil that inspired the racist attack on a Bible study in Charlotte. This evil does not care who plays host to it. Anyone who will hate will do be they Islamic, Christian, atheist, antifa, black or white. If you are filled with hate, this evil will use you to its end.
It hates all life, and it especially hates the abundant life Jesus promised. We fight this evil by declaring our allegiance to the life-giver, Jesus Christ. We fight it by following all His teachings. We fight it by forgiving. We fight it by making His kingdom our priority.
That's what the people at First Baptist in Sutherland Springs were doing. They probably didn't think of it that way. All they did was make the choice to glorify Christ by gathering on the Lord's Day to worship Him together with His people. In that simple act of loving obedience they declared the Lordship of the King of Heaven.
They didn't know it would cost them their earthly lives. We never know when following Christ will cost us, but we are willing to pay the cost. I wonder if anyone will stop going to church because of what happened yesterday in Texas. If they do, they've let evil win.
We fight evil by acting in prayer, and by prayer acting upon us. Pray for the persecuted church, in Syria, around the world, and in Sutherland Springs. Pray that God will comfort the hundreds of family members who are grieving. Write letters, cards, and pray more. Do whatever you can to be God's heart and hands here and now.
Fight evil by living boldly obedient lives for Christ. Everyone dies, but not everyone lives. Our brothers and sisters were there Sunday, worshiping together, living. They were there living when evil came to take their lives. They died living obediently for Christ. One moment they were worshiping by faith. The next they were worshiping by sight. Evil didn't win.
Everyone dies, but not everyone lives. Fight evil. Live for Christ.
(Thanks to Ed Stetzer for the perspective of his article How Christians can respond to this latest church shooting.)
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