Terror and Uncertainty; and a Reflection on the Fragility of Life

First and foremost, I must admit that this article's writing is purposefully delayed, considering the subject matter. God lay the horrific events of Las Vegas heavy on my heart over the past week, as well as many of the other heartbreaking tragedies occurring around the world. Before I posted my thoughts on these situations, Las Vegas in particular, I wanted to be certain that it was written with the utmost respect. 

The loss of life should never be taken lightly, regardless of the situation or circumstance, and in this particular case, my heart still hurts just to think of the mindless horror that occurred. In that vein, I found myself reminded of my own humanity, as well as the all-too-real reality of the evil that dwells in our world. 

In times of great darkness, we are presented a tremendous choice that has no easy answer. When we battle with such intense fear and anger after we are thrown in situations that remind us of our fragility, those feelings often turn into hate. We want to hate the one who slaughtered innocents. We want him to die, and we wish for him to pay the price for his grievous actions. 

However, if that the right action to take? Are we to hate the man, or should we look far deeper then the surface? In order to answer such questions, I will firstly turn to the Bible, which talks in depth on such things. I have been pondering on Romans 8 for many days now, and the truths found in that chapter are quite eye-opening. For starters, we will begin with Romans 8:1-2, which says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."

While that verse is certainly comforting for those of faith, we still see a tremendous amount of sin and death in our world, it surrounds us and fills hearts with dread. The situation in Las Vegas is a very stark reminder of the enemy's tactics, as well as the saddening reality of living in a sinful world.  And that particular situation is not isolated; it does not take one long to look at the world and see the widespread effects of fear and violence. Evil is merciless and will not hesitate to claim lives and wreak havoc, as well as instill fear in our hearts and minds.

Fear is a powerful foe, but even it cannot claim victory over the cross. And in continuation of that thought, neither can the darkness of evil conquer the light. When we see the terrible effects of evil in our world, we quickly can grow cold, fearful, and distant; choosing to view the situation merely through human eyes. The truth is, when we fall from love, and fall from God's Word and give into fear, we lose more then we ever would hope to gain.

We are in danger of mediocrity when we let our perception of our reality cloud our futures. Through expectations, we set for ourselves lofty heights that can never be met, and when they come crashing down, we are faced with the very fear we tried to run from in the beginning. Such is the irony of life, we run from what we cannot escape, and try without success to convince ourselves that we will never face what is inevitable.

Likewise, we try to ignore the sovereignty of God, for humanity would rather dodge accountability in any way possible then be held responsible for our actions. Despite our efforts to evade such things, they are in vain. God is not some distant deity who holds no regard or concern for His creation. He is personal, and He has invested His shed blood into every single one of us. He died so we can live free, and yet many die never knowing this truth. What a travesty indeed when we fail to focus on the importance of this fact. Where have we gone wrong?

We believe that we are invincible, and that we never will face difficulty and hardship, even when it stares us down and makes us realize our grievous mistake. We turn the truth away in favor of a comfortable lie, and yet we fail to see that the truth is what we so desperately need. As clearly stated in Proverbs 12:1, “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid.”

‭‭I pray we seek the truth, have a hunger for knowledge unveiled through God’s Word, and refuse to fall into mediocrity. As Christians, when a great crisis draws us to our knees, we are called to rise. For who else will stand against the darkness, when evil rears its ugly head? What can we do but stand and fight against the monstrosity of sin through prayer and action? We are called by God to reach out to the hurting, aid the broken, and stand against the evil, as is clearly stated in Isaiah 58:6-8, which reads, "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am. ’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.”

We must not give into fear. Even when it swallows our hearts and drowns our minds with the melancholy of hopelessness and the numb terror of helplessness. Regardless, we must not give in. For the day we do, we will lose ourselves in the madness that is humanity lost without a savior. With fear, there is no hope. And with no hope, there is nothing worth living for.