It has been a sad couple of weeks and I guess it's time I share
my thoughts. Orlando is my home. I grew up there, went to church on Orange
Avenue and was married in the church that is just a few blocks from Pulse. When we moved back to Orlando when my husband
retired from the Air Force, we ended up going to a church that later moved into
the same church that I had grown up in.
Although I live outside of Orlando now, it is still my home place.
What happened early that Sunday morning is a tragedy. Although I do not know anyone personally that
was directly affected, my heart has grieved for the families that lost loved
ones or have loved ones that were injured.
It seems that there are a lot of things on the internet and in the news
looking to place the blame somewhere. We
know the man who did it and his allegiance to ISIS. But there is a lot of blame being placed on
guns, the people who previously investigated this man, the government, and some have tried to blame it on the victims
themselves. And what gets me is when some say it is punishment or they try to
preach their religious doctrine. This is
all distractions from the fact that an evil person did an evil thing.
What we need right now is love. Not hate, not arguing the theological
reasons. We need to get to the basics
that Jesus taught - To love each other
as He loves us. The God I serve loves
them. If Jesus was here, He would not
label them or separate himself from them.
He would meet with them, love them.
We should do what we can to help them during this time of loss and
grief. Jesus died on the cross for each
and every one of them. Let us not forget that that is how much
he loves them AND how much he loves us.
Let us mourn with those who have lost a dear family member or friend. Let us help them carry this burden. And to those that survived the carnage, we
that weren't there cannot truly say we understand, but we can be there for them
to lean on, to talk to, to cope with the drastic change that has happened in
their lives. We don't have to have the
answers (especially when there is no answer), but to be there for them without
judgment on who they are or how they are feeling. There is no "right" way that each
person should react and feel. As we are
all unique, so are our responses and actions when something horrible
happens. The only thing that I can say
is the "right" thing for us to do is to love - love as God loves,
without limitations, with pure love, love that would lay down your life for
another.
I love the fact that the church just a few blocks from Pulse
opened its door from the beginning for the first responders to come and find
shelter or to get a brief respite from the scene. The church provided food for them, a place of sanctuary and privacy, and
prayer. They have shown love to all
those involved. That is what the church
should be. That is truly being like
Jesus, and most importantly like His heart.
For me, the answer as
to why this took place is that we had an evil man do an evil thing. If he hadn't used a gun, he could have used
something else to accomplish his ends.
We can never completely create a safe place that nothing bad can
happen. Not saying that we don't try,
but it is unrealistic to say that bad things will never happen. What we can do is turn to the One who holds
the future, who loves us and who carries us through these times when we cannot
carry ourselves.
Let us keep our focus on God and rely on His strength. Remember that each one effected by this
tragedy is one of a kind. The ones that
were lost that day were unique and beautiful.
They can never be replaced. Let's
remember them and pray for the ones that they left behind as they deal with
their loss. And pray for all the
workers, the police officers, fire fighters and all the other numerous people
involved as they deal with what they saw.
Again, let us remember God's amazing, unfathomable
love. For God so loved the world (that
is each and every person that has lived, is living now, or will live), that He (God
the Father) gave His only Son (Jesus), that whosoever (any person, not based on
background, heritage, race, anything) believes in Him (Jesus) should not perish
(not just physical death but spiritual death, separation from God, eternity in
Hell) but have everlasting life (life with God, no sorrow, no more pain, no
more death but fullness of joy and love in God's presence). For God did not send his Son (Jesus) into the
world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through
him. Jesus died because He loves you and
me and wants to have relationship with those He loves. The" might be saved" is that it is
our choice to receive Jesus' sacrifice and to be with Him.
In my opinion, Jesus is not condemning the people. When He met with the Samaritan woman, He told
her the true way to God. He did not
condemn her because of her lifestyle and went on without talking to her. He told her the truth about the only living
God, God's love, and God's plan to save people.
There is no other way to God, no other religion that will get you to
heaven. It is only by the love of God
and the sacrifice of Jesus. So let's
speak of God's love and His truth. What
would Jesus want - To LOVE them, wanting them to receive His gift of salvation,
and for them to love Him back.
For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life. For
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that
the world might be saved through him.
John 3:16-17
