Inside Commonwealth Stadium the Edmonton Eskimos football team were racking up their sixth straight loss of the season. That was bad enough.
Outside Commonwealth, one man went on a Saturday night rampage leaving a police officer and four pedestrians injured. An ISIS flag was found in his vehicle.
Terrorism?
In Edmonton?
ISIS terror has come to our good old northern Alberta city?
Edmontonians went to bed feeling tentative. They woke up Monday to devastation.
Opening A Window Into Hell
Sunday evening, one man in Las Vegas killed fifty-eight and wounded five hundred and twenty-eight others at a country music concert.
Over. Five. Hundred. Dead. Or wounded.
At the hands of one man.
Between ten and fifteen minutes of gunfire.
The deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
Four Canadians were among the dead.
On Monday night, talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel said, “What happened in Vegas this week is the kind of thing that makes you want to throw up or give up, it’s too much to even process.
It feels like someone has opened a window into hell.”
Annapolis
America’s latest horrific mass shooting took place in Annapolis, Md at the Capital Gazette on June 28th, 2018. Read the tributes from colleagues of the five souls suddenly ushered into eternity.
Gerald Fischman; Rob Hiaasen; John McNamara; Wendi Winters; Rebecca Smith.
Abuzz With Blame
What’s crazy is how quickly evil like this gets politicized. Within minutes of each horror, social media was abuzz with blame.
Canadian immigration.
Muslims.
NRA.
Republicans.
Trump.
What about the victims? What kind of condition does a person’s heart have to be in to go to politics rather than compassion?
Short Memories
What’s crazy is how quickly we will forget about the shooting in Vegas. Aside from the victims’ families, memories from tragedy are as temporary as snow in July.
Do you remember when and who were killed in:
Orlando, Florida?
Blacksburg, Virginia?
Sandy Hook Elementary School?
San Bernardino, California?
Roseburg, Oregon?
Charleston, South Carolina?
These mass shootings happened in the past five years.
Third World Familiarity
What’s crazy is how familiar horror like this is to people in third world countries or the Middle East.
Turkey.
Iraq.
Algeria.
Suicide Bombers.
Honduras.
Ukraine.
Nigeria.
Terrorist Attacks.
Libya.
Kenya.
Syria.
5,850 people have been killed worldwide in terrorist attacks in the first 9 months of 2017.
Light vs Darkness
What’s crazy is this won’t be the last time evil will strike.
On 9/11 the world had a moment of clarity. There, on the TV set, for all to see, was unadulterated, raw, evil.
Evil appears in many forms – much more subtle than terrorism.
The biblical metaphor for evil is darkness.
Evil, like darkness, has no power on its own. Like darkness, its strength is the unknown. And fear.
Only light has the power to defeat evil.
Light The Night
Jesus declared, “I am the Light of the world.” He delegated that power to his followers, “You are the light of the world.”
Evil is real but its not eternal.
Light is eternal and is expressed through everything evil is not.
Compassion.
Kindness.
Forgiveness.
Mercy.
Righteousness.
Godliness.
Peace.
“Repay evil with blessing.” 1 Peter 3:9
“Overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
APPLICATION: Bring light to a crazy world. Ask God to show you who needs your light today. Feel free to leave a comment below. Thank you.
Related Post
I write to inspire people to be real, grow an authentic faith in Jesus, enjoy healthy relationships and discover their life purpose. If this material is helpful to you, please follow me.
- Subscribe. I’ll put helpful content into your email box early Mondays and Thursdays, as well as upcoming events at North Pointe Community Church, Edmonton, Alberta.
- Follow on Twitter. I daily tweet info I think you’ll be interested in.
- Friend on Facebook. If you “like” my page, let me know you found me here.
- Connect on Linkedin. I like this because it reminds me what people think I’m good at.
Thank you Pastor for putting these events in perspective. When it seems evil is getting the upper hand, we need reminders that He is building His Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Light will overcome darkness every time.
Blessings.
Thank you for commenting, Paul. The gates of hell will not prevail. Amen.
Thank you Pastor Jones.
Yes the Gates of hell shall not
prevail.
Please continue on and share the
truth of the Lord our God.