Once again our daily news carries the headline that more unarmed black people have been killed. This time not by racist police officers, but by an armed white supremacist who sat for an hour and listened to a Bible Study before pulling out his weapon to gun down nine innocent people.
It hardly matters whether these dear people were killed by a white cop, or by an angry white man. They are still dead.
It really doesn't matter how they were killed, by a handgun, or a rifle.
They were still murdered.
It doesn't even matter where they were killed, in a church, or a park, or a department store.
They are all still gone.
What does matter is that, in our nation, this sort of thing still happens on a regular basis.
What does matter is that it will continue to happen, more and more, unless we decide to do something about it.
No doubt some will use this as an opportunity to push for stricter gun regulations.
Others will use this to encourage more open dialog between people of different races and backgrounds.
Still others will exploit this tragedy to raise money for their campaign, or advance their agenda, or to demonize their opposition.
But make no mistake here, none of those things will improve the situation.
None of those responses - even if they are successful - will do anything more than make it harder to kill someone you hate with a particular brand of weapon.
Here's what will make a difference: The Gospel.
Only Jesus can transform us from the inside out.
Only Jesus can teach us the power of love over hate.
What should we do about the horrible news today?
We should pray.
We should love.
We should tell others that there's only one hope for our nation.
His name is Jesus.
-kg
