Forever will I seek the Lord
The ominous slaughter of our children; To whom do we place the blame?
For too many years we have experienced shootings all around the country, and even across the ocean in Europe. Each one has become a news-maker that everyone would rather hadn’t occurred. However, the most tragic has been where innocent children, most who never even reached puberty, lie in graves for the whole world to mourn their loss.
The most recent in Nashville, TN. Three babies, 9 years old, along with 3 adults. Our children, too young to spell the long words of horrific disasters becoming the very result of something beyond them and most of us as well. This community joins a very long line of school shootings including Sandy Hook, Uvalle TX, and almost too many to elaborate.
Experts in these atrocities are trying to determine the whys and wherefores that allow perpetrators without explanations to get their desire fulfilled without even knowing themselves what has induced such cruel behavior.
One comment regarding the latest shooting regarded it as an evil deed. And, that is exactly the distinguishing term that is applicable to what is occurring around the country, the world, and leaving the world’s populace in a quandary.
How do we apply this old word of evil and place it at the very basis of its creation? By creation we cannot imagine that God had anything to do with its environs or any distinguishing obscene gesture towards one of the most heinous inventive obstacles to holiness we are facing.
Enter the very promoter of evil and the adversary who confronts God, the devil, or Satan. We can imagine that using the person of Satan as a comical gesture of, “The devil made me do it.” Some, I am sure, will respond to this accusation of Satanic influence with counter opposition. Sociologists, psychiatrists, and others dealing with mental difficulties will certainly side with the mental obstructions of these many psychotic individuals and tell us who are seeing the deep spiritual infusion as a too religious occurrence. What Revelation and other scriptures are pointing toward the battle of the final conflict is now beginning and for us to believe that Satan is just a yard game of pin the needle on the tail of the devil. For many years there have been thoughts by a lot of people that the devil is a contrived conviction that is not real.
To be sure, Satan is real, was ejected from heaven, and is loose with myriads of demons seeking to destroy the family, the Church, and make God appear as a lonely old man who will not protect his creatures and always whispering to us that God will not be able to save us.
What has concocted these criminally induced psychotic killers to purposely kill innocent children in their wildest surge we cannot answer? But to reject the idea that Satanic influence is not totally responsible for what we are viewing across this nation is to miss what is now prevalent and the future is surely not over with the same.
Remember that Paul said; “For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.” (Eph 6: 12). The present evil and the very darkness of the same evil is exactly what is occurring in our society today. Evil is the personification of Satan and be assured that is the very essence of our puzzle that there is no human answer. We will do whatever is possible to stop these attacks when we can, bring the killers to justice if they survive their actions, and prosecute them. While that goes on we pray that no more innocent people are gunned down and especially our children. Let's do whatever we can to keep them safe. Continue to pray for all involved on both sides of justice!
Ralph B. Hathaway