Day 2956 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Isaiah 60:2 NIV

Today the world woke up to yet another day after. Another sad moment in our nation. Another collection of lives impacted by actions done out of hatred. Another day filled with sadness and confusion. Another sorrowful realization of our current condition. Another reminder that we’re still far from where we could be, from where we should be. Another list of names who should have never had be immortalized due to truly unnecessary events.

How do you even begin to understand the scenes and sadness we're seeing unfold in an ever-increasing frequency? How do we compartmentalize the sorrow and the anger and the endless questions as to why things such as what happened yesterday continue to happen? How do we make things better in a world that seems to only be growing worse?

Why is the world only growing worse?

The answers to all of these incredibly heavy questions are not easily found sometimes. They're difficult to contemplate, these questions of immense weight, as they require us to involve ourselves within both the discussions as to the problems as well as the efforts that must be undertaken to begin to resolve and alleviate said struggles. And, in many ways, this is something difficult for all of us as it demands that we all admit and all agree that all of us have a role to play, a job to do, or at least, if nothing else, a responsibility to do something.

But, if we don't begin undertaking this task we've been called to fulfill, then we can be certain that scenes of senseless tragedy will only continue to unfold at alarming rates.

Of all the questions that begin being asked in the wake of a horrible event, why is usually involved in many if not most of the quandaries. And, from a faith perspective, the question of why things like this latest school shooting continue to happen is right on the surface and entirely easy to find.

Why does this happen? Because we live in a world that breeds hatred.

Now, from there it does begin to become rather complex and murky. Blame starts being passed around. Personal perspective and political priority rear their ugly and unhelpful heads. The division and dissention caused by the dividing lines within our society grow further apart and more deeply entrenched. Sides are chosen, names are called, and through it all, the hatred we know, the hatred we're all but desensitized toward, the hatred that's encouraged just continues undermining any efforts to make things better.

How did we get here? Well, in many ways we've always been here. Hatred and evil and wickedness have all always been symptoms of our broken condition. They're side effects of the downfall that, while we may have not started it, we have all played a part in its continuation. The darkness we see still so clearly enveloping this earth is a result of human arrogance refusing to let the light of the purest form of love come pouring into our hearts where it could bring us back to life.

Instead, we continue to choose to live according to things like politics and preferences and our personally held opinions, clinging so tightly to them only because they're all that gives us an identity. We've become a civilization built entirely upon outward expressions of disdain and displeasure, because we're either not ready or not willing to address the displeasure we have inside over who we've been, who we've become, and how little we've done to avoid it all, let alone actually correct it all.

In short, we keep our focus on those we disagree with so that we don't have to sit with our own mistakes and messes, as we're just not all that interested in actually making things better. Because we know that to actually make things better, we have to start with us, because you can't build a better future with a bunch of broken parts. And so, we ignore the broken parts, the crumbling consciences, the warped willpowers and the insufficient amount of effort that we're willing to put forth to address our internal structural insecurity.

Be it fear, laziness, complacency or arrogance, few of the true underlying problems our world is facing are being addressed because they all involve all of us. And until all of us begin working to do better ourselves, we can’t possibly begin doing better together.

But how long can we actually pretend that the problem is simply somebody else's fault? How long can we settle for simply passing the blame before we realize that this ongoing blame game is only fuel to the fire of hatred and division that has always been burning, and just doesn't need our ignorance adding more fuel to it? How long can we just point our fingers before we eventually have to point at ourselves?

In our human vanity, we always seek to pass the buck off onto someone else for the failures and flaws we witness or notice or know of because we don't want to have to wrestle with things like guilt and responsibility and the clearly dire consequences of our failing to uphold those responsibilities. The fact of the matter is that we have the answer to these incredibly painful questions. We have the answer to the all the hatred and division we are not only failing to improve but witnessing implode.

We have the answer to the pain and the problems and the pontification of the public. We know the way to make things better.

What are we doing to help others find it? What are we doing to make things better? How can we make things better if we allow things like hatred to continue to be our knee-jerk reaction and foolhardy response to the tragedies of life? We can't, and that's exactly what we're seeing every single time something like this happens. We just see a bunch of people grab signs, charge their bullhorns, log on to social media and unleash their opinions.

But in the game of popularity and politics, nobody wins. Nobody improves. Nobody gains. Nothing is changed. All that happens is we deepen the divide that is causing all of this heartbreak to begin with. All we do by passing the blame and pointing the finger is we allow the darkness and hatred to continue to be our driving force. And until that changes, nothing will change for the better. Because when hatred is the foundation, nothing can ever be built that can possibly stand.

We are in a world that breeds hatred. So many groups and sects and perspectives, and they're all filled with contempt for all the others. We're all so ingrained with disdain that we instinctively resort to it anytime we need to because it's just what the world has taught us to do. Anytime something bad happens, we look for who we can blame, and who better to blame than a group we already disagree with? Who better than someone who doesn't share our opinions? Who better than the groups that our groups have told us are our enemies?

Friends, our enemy is far bigger than a human. Our enemy is larger than an organization with a mailing address. Our adversary is the lord of darkness, and every time we respond out of hatred or anger or malcontent of any form, we play into his hand and allow him to win a few more moments of our time that could have been spent seeking a way to rise above the darkness by striving to reflect the light and love that we know as the overcoming authority of life.

The fact is that we're losing. We’re failing. We’re allowing the evil to win, simply because we won’t fight against it. That's something that all of us need to realize. We're losing. Not that the battle is lost. Not that the final victory is hanging the balance. Not that Christ will fail, because we know His victory is sealed. He has beaten death, overcome darkness, destroyed evil and is now seated in Heaven expecting His people to do better. When will we start?

Days like yesterday bring this weight that feels insurmountable. It's a pain deeper than the marrow of our bones. It's a hurt that in many ways will never heal inside this life. But it doesn't have to beat us. It doesn't have to break us down. It does not have to shift our eyes from the answer. If anything, it should help us see just how crucial this message is of hope and healing and joy and peace and life and love and salvation and forgiveness.

Events like those of yesterday ought to inspire us to fight harder for those around us, no longer accepting the fear that causes us to settle for simply sitting silently upon the sidelines of a society slipping into insanity.

We will never get anywhere by fighting one another. If we want to fight something, let us begin fighting more fiercely the darkness enslaving our world. If we want to blame someone, let us blame ourselves for failing to fight more fervently. If we want to see better days with less pain, let us attack the cause of the downfall. It's not a gun, not an identity, not even a person. It's sin. It's a lack of love. It's a lack of compassion.

It's a lack of God.

We need God in this place, and friends, you and I are the ones who have been called to carry Him everywhere we go through everything we do. Blame and anger and retaliation isn't the answer. That's all just more selfish hatred and self-centered attempts to avoid having to be involved. The answer is Christ, and even though the darkness covering this earth hates everything about His light, we cannot continue to refuse to shine for Him.

How can we? How can we walk around knowing the answer and not share it? How can we realize the immense pain and perplexity all around us not speak the Name that shatters it all?

We mustn't become focused on trying to solve this latest problem with a bunch of blame. It's not about it being at a Christian school. It's not about the perpetrator being of an unconventional lifestyle. It's not about what kind of gun was used or how fast the police responded or the messages and motives left behind by the one who did this. It's about the one who causes this.

And until we begin to unite and fight against the evil and hatred and wickedness that is being not only allowed but in many ways encouraged and embraced, things like this will not stop. They should. They can. But whether or not they will is on us and just how hard we try to overcome evil with good.

My friends, good will win in the end. But we don't have to keep waiting for that end. We can begin being the good now. We can stand up to the darkness now. We can fight back, fight harder, and refuse to stop trying to speak the Name that is above all Names, the Name that makes demons shake, the Name that sends darkness running, the Name that tramples every form of evil.

Now isn't the time to look around for someone else to give us the reasons as to why this keeps happening. Now is the time to look deep inside, find our backbone, find our faith and find the courage to live it loudly so that the voice of truth can start silencing the lies of wickedness and hatred that have been allowed to speak too loudly for too long.

We know the answer. We just need to do something with it.

Make no mistake, it’s not a gun problem. Not a policing problem. Not something to be solved by politics or policies. It’s a God problem, more specifically a lack of God problem. This world has stopped welcoming the purest form of love that exists, and instead, we settle for sharing hatred and discourse over our opinions and preferences. Darkness has become the status quo, and in truth, not much will change until those who know where the light is found find the courage to rise up and share it.

So if we truly want to start fixing this and stop this hurting, then find someone to love. Not someone to blame.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold