This morning my son Rusty, who preaches at the New Day Christian Church in Port Charlotte, Florida, led his congregation in prayer for the grieving families on the Atlantic Coast. Following are the comments he made concerning the horrific shootings at Parkland High School near Fort Lauderdale – a senseless massacre which cost seventeen lives, making it the worst school shooting since Sandy Hook. Rusty’s remarks underscore how that awful tragedy illustrates the worst and the best of mankind.
Our neighbors across the state in Parkland, Florida, were horrified Wednesday when nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz entered his former high school and opened fire, killing seventeen people. I read through the biographies of the seventeen who were killed. Among them were several fourteen-year-old freshmen, a few seniors on the verge of launching into the next chapter of their lives, and three adults who tried valiantly to usher students to safety.
Such a tragedy reveals the worst and best of humanity.
What would possess Nikolas Cruz to murder seventeen innocent people, even young girls who would have still been in middle school when he was a student at the high school? The Bible says three forces tempt us to do evil: the world, the flesh, and the devil.
• Nikolas Cruz was beaten down by a dark world that left him feeling empty and angry.
• His own flesh – his own heart – tempted him to do hateful things. The Bible says, “The heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Each one of us, left to our own devices, is capable of horrific things.
• And the Bible says the devil himself tempts us to do evil. Nikolas Cruz said that demons told him to commit these heinous acts.
We witnessed unbridled evil. Humanity at its worst.
And yet we also witnessed humanity at its best.
Students reported that Aaron Feis, an assistant football coach, ran toward the sound of gunfire and shielded students from the bullets, sacrificing his own life in the process.
What would possess a man, in a moment of terror, to respond with such self-sacrifice? I didn’t have to dig far to find out what motivated Aaron Feis. One student reflecting on the beloved coach said, “When I was sick with leukemia he sent me prayers and Bible verses.” No surprise. I quickly scanned his personal Facebook page and saw evidence of a Christian worldview. One student summarized his life: “He died the same way he lived; he put himself second.”
It’s not what possessed Aaron Feis but Who. Clearly, the Spirit of Jesus Christ possessed him to act in such a way. Someone possessed with the spirits of demons acts one way. Someone possessed with the Spirit of Christ acts the opposite. Aaron Feis put himself second because that’s what our Lord did for us. Jesus said, “Greater love has no man than this, than he would lay down his life for his friends.”
This tragedy reminds us: We are all sinners with deceitful hearts that are capable of horrendous evil. But Jesus loves us so much that “while we were still sinners” he died in our place, shielding us from the sting of death. Now his Spirit possesses us, giving us the power to change from the inside out and to live the kind of selfless life that he exemplified.
Father, we pray today for our grieving neighbors in Parkland. Please comfort them. We pray that good will win out over evil and that the witness and strength of Your people will turn tragedy into triumph. I pray for my friend Scott Eynon, pastor of Community Christian Church, and the other pastors and churches in that area who are ministering to hurting people today. Strengthen them, comfort them, use them to bring people to You.
Lord, we pray even for Nikolas Cruz. While we pray for justice on this earth, we pray for mercy for eternity. We know even the most wicked among us can be forgiven and changed if they will simply surrender to You.
And Lord we pray for ourselves. Comfort us. Remind us that even in a fallen world, you are still in control, we do not have to be afraid, and we do not have to give into our own evil temptations. We can trust in you; we can rest in you; we can be inspired by you to do great things – heroic things – in your name. Let us trust that you will make all things right someday. In the meantime, let us follow your example and put ourselves second.
In Jesus’ name and for his glory.
Amen.
– the above prayer was given by Rusty Russell, Pastor of the New Day Christian Church, Port Charlotte, Florida, during morning services on Sunday, January 18, 2018
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