Matthew 12:34-36 You
brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks
what the heart is full of. A good man
brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings
evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone
will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have
spoken.
Yesterday the news showed coverage of the first court
appearance of James Holmes, the man accused of the recent massacre in Aurora,
Colorado. He looked weird, with dyed
yellow / orange hair. Yet even stranger he appeared drugged. Perhaps he was or maybe subjected to round
the clock questioning or maybe he was acting. Maybe something snapped. Regardless of any of that, he committed
heinous acts. The legal analysts said
that it would be up to the victim’s families to decide whether they wanted the
death penalty pursued. I’m struggling to determine how I feel about this
man. Should I want to spew hatred toward
him? Should I write him off as
insane? Should I pity him as a child of
God gone awry? My heart goes out to the
wounded and the families of those killed and yet I can’t help wonder what
turned this person into a cold blooded killer.
I can only pray for everyone and leave the rest to God and the justice
system.
Holy God, We can’t understand why people commit such evil
acts. Instead we pray for wisdom on
considering how we should react and we pray for those who are injured and
grieving after acts of violence anywhere.
We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Peace,
Paige
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