RESPONDING TO THE NEWTOWN TRAGEDY

Ecclesiastes 8:14 “Sometimes something useless happens on earth. Bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to Bad people.” (NCV)

1. Grieve with this hurting community. Meditate on these promises of God:

• “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4
• “Pour out your heart to God, for he is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8
• The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

2. Refuse to become bitter.

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled… (Hebrews 12:15 ESV)

It’s natural to have mixed emotions of grief, anger, hurt, shock, and even righteous indignation in the wake of such a horrendous act of injustice like this one. It’s important that we don’t let these emotions turn into bitterness, callousness, or hardness. Take a look at this stunning act of forgiveness from the father of one of the Sandy Hook victims.

3. Pray for our societies. This is no understatement. Our world, our nation, and our city all need our prayers. Prayer affords our communities the blessing of God’s protection and healing. It opens doors of opportunity for the gospel to change lives, it mobilizes the church, and it prepares the way for God’s renewal and restoration in our societies:

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. (2 Chronicles 7:14-15 ESV)

It’s important to note that this promise was made to the prayers that were made in the house of God. Not to imply exclusivity of any other prayers, but important to note the value and substance God puts on corporate prayer and the central place of worship. Let’s be committed to corporate prayer and value the spiritual covering our worship gatherings have upon society. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
(Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV)

4. Engage your children and loved ones. Love them deeply and hug them often. Be intentional: talk to them about suffering, evil, and tragedy and communicate what it means to love and forgive people despite evil.

So many of the families of these victims have said they never thought this could happen in their community or to them personally. We can’t raise our children with a false sense of security. We live in a fallen world with evil rampant. Protecting our children’s innocence is important, but so is preparing them to face the evil that exists in our world. We must find balance in guarding innocence while also actively engaging in communication with our kids about tragedies like this. We can’t ignore it and pretend it will never come to our door. The worst thing you can do is not talk to your children about this tragedy. The best thing you can do is talk about it in relationship to God’s sovereignty and His power over evil and death. This develops your child’s faith more than merely ignoring the evil.

5. Renew your commitment to God’s mission. Do you want to change the world? Remind yourself that none of us are here to set up our own paradise and guard it from pain or suffering. We can’t be lulled to sleep with selfish ambition.

As Christ-followers, we have a responsibility to commit to the work Jesus is doing through His Church in actively engaging our communities with the gospel, making disciples, and changing our world ONE person at a time. Renew your focus on God’s agenda, and repent if you have made your life about any other agenda.

People are hurting all over our world and in our local communities as well. Let’s become more disciplined and committed than ever to God’s agenda, and let’s make 2013 a year that shapes eternity in the hearts of people. Let’s change our world by confronting the evil in it with the life-changing message of Jesus and the good news of the gospel.

Our lives are a vapor, let’s make sure we find ourselves about the urgency of God’s business, not our own.

The world is broken and hurting, let’s respond!