Our hearts were stirred with mixed emotions this past week as we heard and watched accounts of the vicious, senseless, cold-blooded murder of nine worshipers in a Bible study at the historic African Methodist Church in Charleston, North Carolina.  The godly pastor,  was also a U.S.  Senator.  We are tempted to become philosophical and theological in the wake of such events.  Does such abhorrent evil militate against the existence of a good and holy God?  Quite the contrary.  The existence of a category we call “evil” argues for the existence of just such a God.  That is why it is so shocking and so violating of every normal person’s sensibilities and why we possess such moral sensibilities.  There is no evil act that means that God causes or accepts such atrocities.  But the only alternative to their existence would seem to be to create persons who were robotic rather than persons who could implement free moral choices.  Further, a Day is coming when all wrongs will be made right and all injustices remedied.  Until that Day, we can change circumstances and transform human hearts and lives through our prayers, within the parameters of God’s sovereignty and our derived freedom of choice.  Meanwhile, we pray earnestly for our brothers and sisters in Christ who will be years recovering from this terrible tragedy.  None of them will fully recover until the day they are with God and their slain loved ones.  But our prayers are for God’s richest blessing upon them, and for God to use this monstrous tragedy to showcase his glory and the beauty of redeemed lives who can sincerely say of the maniac who perpetrated this unspeakably awful deed, “I forgive you and pray God will forgive you and receive you.”#Jesus Saves #JesusForgives #JesusLoves

Dr. Richard L. Shaw Ph.D., Pastor