It was a tough week in the Boston area–and in all of America–given the Boston Marathon bombing and the manhunt that followed. We sat watching the drama unfold in front of our television sets, wondering what would drive someone to commit such heinous crimes and insane acts. In this era of instant information, we had a heaping helping that nearly choked us–until the good guys won.
This is no longer new to us. We’ve been here before. The stage may be different, but the act is not. Bravado, defiance, and contempt for human life are popping up all around us. The unthinkable no longer is. On a macro level, human life is being discounted. We once held it in high esteem, but the hate-filled destruction that keeps rearing its ugly head suggests some serious chinks in our moral armor. The unpredictability of these terror strikes has become predictable. We still may not know the time and place, or the weapon, but we are certain more is to come. With the age of innocence now a distant memory, these maniacal attacks on the unsuspecting and the defenseless are becoming all too commonplace. Is there any making sense of the senseless?
For those growing up amid this chaos, the shock value is diminishing. I deal with youth in crisis on a regular basis, and I can sense their despair and hopelessness. Many have caught the bug. Suicide has become a popular choice of escape. When human life is devalued, that choice screams out to someone who can’t see beyond their problems. When you grow up in today’s world, “why bother” may just become your mantra. Suicide is no longer the last resort. Is there any making sense of the senseless?
As technology draws peoples of the globe closer together, we are beginning to realize that we live in a dangerous world. And it seems as though the red and white stripes of the American flag now appear to its enemies as in the shape of a circle, with the bullseye squarely fixed on a way of life that they detest. Can someone please “hit the pause button” for a minute? We need to catch our breath, and to see what went wrong? Better yet, how about turning back the hands of time? Could we go back and figure out where we went awry? Is there any making sense of the senseless?
But the evil, the jealousy, the hatred, are as old as time itself. Cain, a member of the first family in recorded history, became so jealous of his brother, Abel, that he murdered him. Seems the bitterness consumed him, and he vented it on the innnocent. Not much has really changed over the years…other than the tools of the trade. We’ve developed more “effective” tools of destruction.
The insanity reminds us that the powers of darkness still have their place in this world, despite the fact that a holy, righteous, loving God has already done His deed to defeat evil. That same God gives us all a free will. Some exercise their free will wisely. Others do not.
So, what’s the solution? How do we slow this runaway train before it wrecks all of us?
The answer has always been Jesus. Pastor Burns is taking us through The Revelation and we know the days will only grow darker. Until that day when the eastern sky is split and the Trumpet sounds, we can only be His hands, His feet, His voice and persevere.