Apr. 18: Life-Giver

The nation continues to reel in the aftermath of the “Virginia Tech Massacre”. Thirty-two students were shot to death and dozens more injured before the gunman, a fellow student, turned the gun on himself. The questions of “Who?” and “How?” are being answered, but the question of “Why?” may never be known.

The gunman has been identified as Cho Seung-Hui, a 23 year old Senior English major who was born in South Korea. Late Tuesday evening in Seoul, as the shooter was identified, officials reacted to the news with shock and conveyed deep condolences to the victims, their families and the American people. There was also fear that the tragedy could possibly stir up racial prejudice or confrontation.

As the stories of the survivors began being told, accounts of heroism and self-sacrifice led many to tears. One hero is Liviu Librescu, an engineering professor who confronted the gunman when he attempted to enter the classroom. Students inside said Librescu tried to hold the door shut, giving some of them time to jump out the windows. The professor, a 22-year veteran of the university, was killed. He was 75 years old, a World War 2 Holocaust survivor who emigrated from Israel. He followed the example of Jesus, who once said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13)

I keep reminding myself of what the Bible teaches: that although we are created in the image of God and each person bears a spark of the Divine, sin has also entered the world and every human heart. Evil does exist and sinful people do hurtful and sometimes horrific deeds. We continue to face daily the consequences of living in a fallen world.

We need a Savior; someone to address our sin problem and do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)

The Apostle Peter reminds us that “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous (innocent) for the unrighteous (guilty), to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18)

~ Father, I am so grateful that Your Son, Jesus, took the death that was intended for me so I could live free and be reconciled to You. Help me to draw close to You so Jesus would not have died in vain. Amen.