Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
As so many others have said and are saying, my heart and thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and to all those traumatized by the violence that took place in an elementary school in Connecticut yesterday.
Certainly, no one should ever have to be a witness to such violence.
But for grade school children? Good Lord, there is no way that such innocent ones should be subjected to such violence.
Yet, subjected they were and subjected they are.
The history of violence in our country and our world is a sordid one. People at younger and younger ages are subject to a whole range of violence that includes physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, famine, war, and murder.
This should not be.
The question we ask, then, is “Why does this happen?”
The answer is quite simple, real, and shocking.
Evil — pure, unadulterated evil — exists.
We oftentimes reject that notion.
We say to ourselves that evil is a concocted reality, that it does not exist.
Make no mistake about it. Evil is very real.
It thrives on people denying it. It is then that it can spread unchecked.
Evil exists because people opt for it rather than for good.
Do we wonder why there are so many problems in the world today? Evil is the answer.
As long as we deny its existence, it has the opportunity to take a tighter grip, a firmer control of our lives.
Evil can be destroyed, though.
It will be overcome when people reject it and choose to do good.
I beg you to make that choice this day.
FAITH ACTION: One of the ways you can opt for that choice is by prayer. Kindly pray for the victims of the shooting in Connecticut today. Pray for victims of violence throughout our country and around our world. Finally, pray for peace. It is the only solution. It is real. It can come about . . . when we embrace it. Embrace good today. Reject evil. Live in peace.