January 2024
Steve Russo
It happened again – another school massacre – this time at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. There are no words to describe the heartache felt across the nation over the senseless loss of 20 precious children along with teachers and administrators. Evil has once again reared its ugly head.
Schools across North America got the jitters. Parents were fearful to send their kids back to school while students were uneasy to be on campus not knowing if they would be the next victims of a random act of violence.
Schools have become physical battlefield with things like bullying and students being robbed. And then there are the moral conflicts on these same campuses. We’ve become a culture that believes truth is relative; everything should be tolerated and angst is the norm. So what’s the solution?
King David asked a similar question centuries ago. “The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do? But the Lord is in his holy Temple; the Lord still rules from heaven” Psalm 11:3-4 (NLT).
Politicians and leaders seem to be racking their brains to figure out what’s happening. The answer is obvious to a follower of Jesus. We are experiencing what happens when you ignore God – making every effort to remove Him from the core of our lives. It shouldn’t be a surprise to us.
So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. Romans 1:24 (NLT)
We cannot remove God from our lives and society and not expect any serious consequences. It doesn’t work like that.
The way out begins with a conscious decision to turn back to God and take the Bible seriously. Then change will start to take place one person at a time. Our culture will be healed when we bring God back into the center of our individual lives and families – and even our schools.
It’s about being peacemakers and respecting others – even if we disagree. We need to be available for those who are angry, hurt and confused. Let’s do all we can to influence others to live their lives for Jesus.
