It’s been nearly a week since there was a mass shooting
at a club in Orlando. It was said to be the worst mass shooting in our nation’s
recent history. What happen was horrible, but it’s been amazing to see how the
local community has pulled together to support those who were injured and the
families and friends of those who were killed. Many lives were saved due to the
quick response of the medical teams and first responders…and even some civilians
who stepped in to help complete strangers. People stood in lines all over
central Florida for hours to be able to donate blood to help the survivors.
Restaurants have donated meals to investigators, blood donors, and others who
were involved. Chick-fil-a even opened its kitchen (but not its cash registers)
to provide meals on a Sunday. Churches and at least one of the local Christian
radio stations have offered a listening ear and counselling to those affected
by the shooting. The man who shot all those people went into that club with
evil and hate in his heart. The community has responded with love. Political,
moral, religious, and racial difference have been put aside and people are
helping each other find healing.
What would Jesus have done if He were in a physical body
in Orlando early on Sunday morning? I don’t presume to be an authority on what
Jesus would or wouldn’t do, but I can read in the Bible what He did do when He
was on earth.
He typically addressed people’s physical needs before
addressing the spiritual ones. When people would come to hear Jesus teach, it
wasn’t typically a scheduled meeting. They didn’t have a schedule to meet by
the sea at 11:00 every Sunday morning and the lesson end between 12:00-12:15.
People would hear that He was in town preaching and drop everything to go
listen to Him. Sometimes they would listen to Him for hours and even days and
miss meals. The disciples would go to Jesus asking Him to send away the people
so they could eat. Instead, He took a few fish and small loaves of bread and
multiplied that food so that thousands of people could eat. He took care of
their very real physical need of hunger before continuing to teach them.
Another time, the religious leaders were trying to trip Jesus up regarding the
punishment of a woman caught in adultery. Jesus didn’t try to preach to her
while men had stones ready for killing her. He took care of her literal life
and death need first by telling the religious leaders that whoever was without
sin should cast the first stone. After they were all gone with not a single
stone cast, then He told her to go and sin no more.
He had compassion. Matthew 9:36 says, “But when he saw
the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and
were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” I’m pretty sure that if
Jesus had been in human form this past Sunday morning in Orlando, this verse
would have applied. People were injured, scared and confused. They were
desperate to know what happened to their friends and family members after they
were separated, to make sense of this horrible tragedy. Jesus was able to calm
horrible storms and He can bring peace in the midst of troubles and hard times.
The kind of peace that doesn’t make sense because it came during the worst
circumstances.
He healed the sick and injured, and He raised people from
the dead. It’s very possible that Jesus would have been working alongside of
the first responders healing and bringing comfort to each one He touched. Maybe
He would have been in line to donate blood – after all, what’s one pint of
blood to someone who gave far more than that, including His life, so that we
could be saved.
He rebuked the hypocritical religious leaders. The
religious leaders of Jesus’ day were more concerned with keeping every aspect
of their law and adding new laws that they neglected to be concerned with what
was in their hearts. To all appearances, they looked fine on the outside but on
the inside, Jesus compared them to a tomb with decaying bodies inside. I
believe that if Jesus were in human form today, He would rebuke the people of
Westboro Baptist (and I really hate calling them Baptist because they DO NOT
represent the vast majority of Baptists or Christians). I believe He would come
down hard on them for the way they twist the Scripture to justify being hateful
toward people. No, the Bible does not condone sin, but it also talks a lot
about being kind, speaking the truth with love (something they are desperately
lacking) and loving people as you love yourself. Being hateful is doing nothing
to spread the gospel to anyone, in fact, it’s probably doing more harm than
good…assuming anyone takes them seriously and actually thinks that their
doctrine of hate represents actual Christians. The Bible never said that our
job as Christians is to convict people of sin. That’s the job of the Holy
Spirit. No, we shouldn’t water down the Bible to some feel good, lovely dovey
thing where the Bible has clear “thou shalt not” statements. We’re called to be
the light of the world and to let our lights shine before men to point them
toward God. There’s a difference between using a flashlight to help someone
find their way in the dark and shining it right in their eyes and nearly
blinding them with it. The first is something people will respond better to.
The second is a good way to get yourself hit, give the other person a headache,
and make them want to get away from you as fast as possible. Yes, technically
both are still being lights, but the first is a much better option if you’re
wanting the person to actually listen to what you’re telling them.
Jesus accepted people as they were, but never left them
as they were. They were changed because of knowing Him. The Bible said that
Jesus had meals with “publicans and sinners”. Nowhere does it say that He
converted them first. A changed life wasn’t a requirement for spending time
with Jesus and receiving His love; it was a byproduct of it. The woman caught
in adultery wasn’t changed when Jesus met her, but her life was never the same
afterwards. His disciples weren’t changed men when Jesus found them. He didn’t
tell them to go spend a few months in the synagogue first and then follow after
Him. No, He said to follow, and they dropped what they were doing and followed.
It was after they followed, that they changed.
What do I believe that Christians should do in response
to what happened in Orlando? The #1 thing is pray. Pray for those directly
impacted by the shooting. Pray for those who were injured. Pray for the family
and friends of both the injured and those killed. Pray for the first responders
and medical personnel who were overwhelmed with injured, yet kept going and
likely saved many lives. Pray for the investigators who are trying to determine
if the shooter was indeed a lone wolf or part of a bigger plot to kill more
Americans. Pray for our country and its leadership as we live in a crazy world
and the decisions they make impact us now and the future of our country.
Another thing that is important (for both Christians and non-Christians) is
blood donation. When you donate blood, you are literally saving lives. Just in
my family, I have two people that I love dearly who might not be alive today if
it wasn’t for blood donors – my grandfather and my husband. There were people
injured this past Sunday morning who are alive now that might not have been had
it not been for blood donors. Have compassion. Many of the victims may be
living a different lifestyle than you are, but we’re all flawed humans in need
of a Savior, in need of grace, in need of comfort at times, and in need of
compassion. Pray that people will turn to God for comfort and salvation in the
midst of this terrible tragedy. We may have to agree to disagree on things at
times, but we can still show God’s love and compassion to people of all walks
of life. Pray that in this difficult time, God can use it to bring our
community and country together. There are so many things that people use to
divide us. It’s time to come together as Americans and show those who try to
terrorize us that we will come through this stronger and more united.
Here is a link to some resources that one of our radio
stations out of Orlando has pulled together if you live in central Florida and
want to know how you can help.
Well said Beth.
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