Treasures in Heaven

I can't tear myself away from the coverage of what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary. It hits home in all areas of my life: professionally and personally.

The little faces of the students that were killed remind me so much of Harrison and Henry. I can't imagine what those parents are going through. The stories that come out about each little kid and the pictures that they post makes me so sad.

And then I think about all of the times that I sat through a drill as a classroom teacher to prepare for a situation like the teachers experienced last Friday. One time at my school, teachers weren't warned ahead of time that there would be an intruder drill. It occurred to me that our school could be under some sort of an attack. I prepared like I was trained to do, but debated how to react if someone entered my classroom. I am a mom. I have two little boys. But there were so many other little kids whose parents who trust me to protect their students and keep them safe. Would I die for my kids? Would I be like the principal who rushed toward the gunman to save the lives of the students that I am paid to help raise up?

We all are forced to reconcile, in a situation like the one that happened on Friday, that evil exists. Whether you were like me, glued to your TV, or whether you found the story so sick and appalling that you couldn't watch it, we all have to realize that there is a force beyond comprehension that exists in this world; one that we can't control the way we want to.

I was watching the news and the president, and reading comments in the newspaper this week. It occurred to me that everyone is looking for an answer in this situation. Gun control, mental illness, education, and politics seem to be the front runners as forms by which we try to classify those answers. It seems like everyone assumes that if we make enough laws and control the minds of the sick, that we can put a stop to the vulgar capabilities that exist in this world.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to have taught ancient history. I have a degree in Sociology. What I have learned in my educational experience is that there has been no government that has been able to conquer and defeat cruelty in this world. Whether they leverage it, or attempt to control it, every society has been unsuccessful in this endeavor.

Am I suggesting that we ignore the events of Friday and do nothing to stop future attacks? On the contrary. I believe that God established government for a reason: to protect and organize people. Paul made it clear in Romans that God created government for good. Government should promote righteousness; and can. I believe in the good aspects of government, because I believe in God. But the questions that we have in situations like this one should point us to the fact that we are helpless as a society. We can't do this on our own. We can't try to initiate laws, or answer questions without seeking the help of a greater Power.

Because stricter laws on gun control won't bring comfort to a mother who lost her child unjustly. Finding answers to mental illness can't control the mind of a psychopath. Initiating programs against bullying in school won't stop evil. But God did.

You might say: oh that's nice Lindsay that you have found comfort in your religion, but it's not religion.

I know a Maker who defeated death. Who gave His life as a ransom for the needy and the helpless. Who drove out demons, healed the sick, fed thousands with some bread and some fish. He rose Lazarus from the dead. He promises to come again to defeat evil once and for all. 

When I look at the pictures of the little boys and girls that died the other day, I don't look to the government for peace. I look to the Prince of Peace.

My prayer is that we as a nation would find a way to pray harder. To give to one another like Jesus did. I pray that we would realize that we can't control circumstance. But He did. I pray that we would spend more time getting to know Him and see what we can do to love others the way that He asks us to love. Most importantly, I pray that we would put our hope and our faith and our lives in Him. Because he promises a life better than this if we do.

John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Revelation 3:21: To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne
  
Matthew 6:19-20 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.



Rom 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.