One Pastor's Perspective

Last night in evening worship, we combed through the commands of Jesus in Matthew 5.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ calls His disciples to live to a HIGHER STANDARD.  “You have heard it was said ‘Do not murder’, but I tell you ‘Do not WISH someone dead.'”  Jesus calls us to a holy life, one that hinges on the state of our hearts.

He also told us to turn the other cheek if slapped, and if compelled to carry a pack for one mile, to carry it for TWO.  He commanded us to LOVE OUR ENEMIES and PRAY FOR THOSE WHO PERSECUTE US.  And now, one week after the brutal attack on citizens, on innocent by-standers, at the Boston Marathon, we are left to ask “What does this mean??”  Truth is, it takes on a whole new meaning for us.

Jesus did NOT say to let the remaining bomber off the hook.  He deserves to answer for his crimes, and will do this. But I believe Christ is addressing the hatred that we can possibly feel in our hearts towards this young man.

Every time I see a picture of that little eight year-old boy that was killed, my blood boils.  It makes me ANGRY.  I want to go do something about that.  And, I cannot even imagine how I would respond if that had been my son.  If one of the young ladies killed had been my daughter.  I pray I never have to face that, because I just don’t know how I would handle it.

I think most of us that love America probably felt the same way.  We would not hesitate to pull the trigger and end that guy’s life.  But vengeance is not ours to be had … it belongs to God Almighty Himself.

As hard as it seems, we have to realize that Jesus Christ died for that young man, “Suspect #2.”  Sometimes I wonder if someone had reached out to he and his brother years earlier and told them about the hope of Jesus Christ, if this bombing would have even happened.  I wonder if the church not doing our job is the reason these men plunged so far into darkness.

But, Christ made it clear we are to LOVE our enemies and PRAY for those who persecute us.  Even though our instinct is to do the opposite.  And if you don’t believe me, go read Matthew 5.

A tough thought for the day… But, I believe there is a reason for all of this.  I believe God is protecting us from ourselves when He reminds us to love our enemies, because He knows if we plunge into a world of hate and bitterness it will hurt US far more than it hurts anyone else.

We still do not know all of the details.  And we might never know them all.  But the United States of America has been attacked again, in a cowardly way.  The goal of any kind of terrorism is to strike terror into the hearts of intended victims… There are actually two circles of targets in a terrorist attack:  Those directly impacted by the attack.  In the case of Boston, those killed, injured, and those who were eyewitnesses of this heinous action.  The second circle is anyone who watches this on television, online, or through other forms of media… These are those who will fear based on this attack.

With all of that understood, what do we tell our children?  We hold much of the key to their feelings of security and, unfortunately, they are growing up in an age where this seems to happen more and more often.  How do we convey this message to them and preserve their sense of security??

First of all, remember that each child is different and will handle this information differently.  Second, be very selective about which news shows and web articles you permit them to see…  Over the last hours, some of the images on the web and in news coverage are pretty gruesome.  While these images are true, I’ll confess at 46 years old there are a couple I wish I could unsee…

What can we do??

1.  Tell them the truth … as they can handle it.  I think God models this to us in how He has progressively revealed Himself to us.  He has told us the truth, as we can handle it and process it.  This is where you MUST know your children.  And if you have different aged siblings, this will be tougher.  But the best thing you can do is be as honest as you can with them.

2.  A fact of life is that evil exists in this world.  Most children can understand that.  And, one of the saddest facts of what happened yesterday is the perpetrator(s) of this act of terror did this with no regard to the fact that they were hurting innocent people.  In fact, that is what they intended to do.  You cannot get any more evil than that.

3.  Another fact is that God expects His people to bring LIGHT and GOODNESS into the world.  So now WE have a job to do.  Satan might have struck the first in this battle, but WE MUST WIN THE WAR.  We can now find ways to bring GOOD to something that is really, really BAD.

4.  Tell them to pray, and pray often.  Pray for the victims.  Pray for the first responders, who ran TOWARD the explosions while others ran away from them… (THESE FOLKS ARE HEROES!  GOOD IS ALREADY RUNNING IN).  Pray for those who will investigate this terrible crime, that they will find the truth.  And, finally, pray for whomever did this.  YES, Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.  I know this seems to go against EVERYTHING we feel inside right now, but they obviously are in DESPERATE NEED of a real relationship with Jesus Christ.

5.  We remind them to BE OF GREAT COURAGE.  We allow a terrorist to win when we FEAR.  I know that is hard, but God walks the paths of life with us everyday.  Even when evil tries to strike us.  And truthfully, we never know what will come our way.  But we were not given a spirit of fear, but a spirit of POWER.  Of courage.  And we can defeat this act of terrorism by holding our heads high and being BRAVE.

Obviously I am no expert… I am sure many will find problems with some of what I have written.  But the truth is always the best answer.