As the horrific details of the Amish school shooting unfold, we are reminded again of the depravity of the human condition, apart from the grace of God. What could possibly lead a man to do what this man did? It is truly mind and spirit numbing to consider the evil of which men are capable.
There are some who deny the evil of the human heart. They explain all despicable human behavior as the result of environment, nurture, and culture. But even those raised in the best of surroundings are capable of the most awful crimes. As someone said, "Even the best of men are men at best."
Back in the early 1900s with the rush of "evolutionary’ philosophy, many Europeans and North Americans envisioned a glowing future for humanity. These thought that society would evolve and progress to higher and higher levels. Disease, poverty, war, and crime would all be eliminated in the brave new world of the future. After two world wars, the rise of fascism and communism, and now the rise of Islamic terrorism, few are as naively optimistic about the future of humanity. In a world like ours, we believers have hold of a powerful truth that many are eager to hear. Our only hope is in the Lord alone.
For those with ears to hear, Dr. Kostenberger reminded us of this in worship on Sunday when he preached from Ephesians 6. We are engaged in a great spiritual battle of cosmic proportions. Evil is a reality. The evil one seduces unstable men into the delirium of perpetrating the unspeakable. On a more subtle level he is always at work driving wedges between husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, neighbor and neighbor, friend and friend. So then, let us put on the whole armor of God so that we may make our stand against the wiles of the devil (Eph 6:10).
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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