The airwaves are filled with the breaking news of another senseless school shooting, this one in Santa Clarita, CA.

All of them in recent years have been downright heartbreaking – just to imagine the fear and angst and pain those affected, children and parents and teachers alike, must have experienced and some will continue to for the rest of their lives – but this one hits even much closer to home since as a teen I actually attended some football games at Saugus High School, which was the very location of this morning’s shooting.  And it’s unthinkable that such a horrific event would occur there, perennially appearing on the “Safest Cities” and “Best Places in America to Raise Kids” lists.

On the other hand, from a spiritual  perspective, it’s not unthinkable at all, because murder and hatred (the former is merely the ultimate expression of the latter, and indeed directly tied together by the Lord Jesus Himself in Matthew 5:21-22 and echoed later in 1 John 3:15 – “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer“) are part and parcel of fallen flesh, the default setting for human nature, for every single person ever born of a human father and mother (i.e., everyone in human history except Adam, Eve, and Jesus).  That “default” (or should I say, deFAULTY =) setting can be changed later in life, post-birth, but even we believers started out as depraved creatures, filled with murderous hate, as clearly stated in Titus 3:3 – “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures [depraved!], spending our life in malice and envy, HATEFUL, HATING ONE ANOTHER.”

So while unthinkable on a human  level, it’s just the opposite on the spiritual  level, totally expected and in fact I’m amazed that, while increasing in frequency in recent years (as clearly and fully predicted in 2 Timothy 3:13), there haven’t been even more  of these mass shootings.  But still heartbreaking every time.

I think that EVERYONE – liberals  and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans and Independents, believers and unbelievers – can and does agree that with few exceptions, CHILDREN should NOT have access to guns (the rare exceptions would be, for example, those in rural areas who help their parents farm their land and need to be able to protect themselves from predators, to protect their far-from-the-nearest-neighbors homes, etc., but generally speaking it seems wise to keep guns out of the hands of children; like driver’s licenses) – but AS MUCH ACCESS as possible to the BIBLE!  I am convinced that this would prevent 95+% of these shootings, impossible to prove  but very sure about this; it wouldn’t prevent 100% but the more lives saved, the more senseless deaths prevented, the BETTER.  And the best – and probably only – way to truly accomplish that is the Bible.  Because it’s the ONLY thing that can truly transform the human mind.  From blindness to sight. From hate to love.  From sin to sanctification.

I shan’t hold my breath that a majority of our political leaders will put that into action any time soon, in light of the abundance of resistance and dearth of moral courage these days by-and-large, but given how other albeit well-intended approaches have failed and failed miserably, and given how precious the lives of all people are but in a way most of all  that of children (since they have longer to live than we adults do on average if nothing else), isn’t that reason enough to give the BIBLE a try again, like this nation did years ago with great success for centuries?

While my heart breaks today for those affected – this time in my former home of Santa Clarita, CA – as it has every time tragedies like this have occurred in the past, it’s also comforted  by the fact and knowledge that there IS an answer, that as great as it is to KEEP AWAY guns from children, it’s even far better to GIVE them a Bible!  As great as it is to take away guns from their hands, it’s even far better to put the Bible into their minds.

Lord, please comfort those affected by this latest tragic school shooting.  Thank you for Your grace that such are still fairly uncommon, but those to whom it did happen today surely need an extra dose of your love so please comfort them and may they experience that in a very tangible way, and bring healing, Lord, to them and to our nation and beyond.  And most of all, I pray that the 16-year-old girl who died is now with you in heaven, that she placed her faith in You before it was too late, or that she gained entrance by way of not having yet reached the point of accountability which only You know for sure.  And may the rest of us be certain  to do so before our time comes, before “our number is called”.  And comfort her family most of all, since they no doubt are suffering the most from today’s shooting.  Amen.
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