Ephesians 6 says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Make no mistake. What happened in Uvalde yesterday was committed by a flesh and blood person but was the scheme of Satan and his demons. I don’t know if that person was demon-possessed necessarily but he was definitely influenced by him. He was also not a sane person. Sane people don’t kill innocent children.
Like you, I am mad. I am heartbroken. I can’t comprehend what those parents are going through and neither I nor does anybody else have all the answers to why God would allow such a thing. Add it to the list of things in this world that don’t make sense. But I will go to my grave knowing that God sees, cares and cries with us.
The question that everyone is now asking is, “How do we keep it from happening again?” And, again, I don’t have all the answers. Some people want more guns. Some want fewer. Some want better mental health resources or more police or fewer police. Some people will put a “Pray for Uvalde” post on their social media and go about their day. But somehow none of those “answers” seems to feel very satisfying.
Most of you know I like dogs. I like dogs a lot! If I had the resources, I’d have a bunch of ‘em. And I see dogs in the shelter and I see neighborhood dogs chained up and I see people who don’t take care of their dogs and my heart goes out to those and I want to help every single one of them. But I can’t. But, do you know what I can do? I can take care of mine.
It’s the same with your kids and your grandkids. I don’t know where the Uvalde shooter’s parents were but it’s too late for him now. It’s not too late for your loved ones. We can’t help him not be evil but we can tell our kids and our grandkids and the neighbor boys and girls about Jesus because, do you know what all mass shooters have in common? None of them have a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus.
Your job, your hobbies, your friends, your comfort – none of that is worth seeing your loved one being led into a horrible scheme of the evil one. You can’t help all the kids. But you can make sure yours knows they are loved and cherished by you and by God. Hug them a little tighter today and pray for those in Uvalde who can’t. — Todd