I probably should hold off writing this until tomorrow… Or at least stop before submission and save the final draft for later, but I can’t sleep, my heart is heavy, so here goes….. If any of the 3 ( or so 😉 of you who actually read this blog feel offended, I am sorry… It is not my intent.

I had an argument with my 10 year old this morning before school. She wasn’t as enthusiastic about getting to school on time as I thought she should be… We both kind of handled it badly. I left the house to go to work and didn’t get too far down the road before I turned around. I couldn’t let her go to school being mad at me…. I had to say that I was sorry.

That would be the right thing to do on any morning. But, you see, this morning I could not stop thinking about what happened just a few days ago in Parkland, Florida. And I couldn’t stop thinking that IF ( God forbid ) something was to happen at my daughter’s school today, what would be last thing we said to each other.

It’s a terrible thing to think about. But I couldn’t stop. So I had to make sure she knew that I loved her.

It’s a terrible thing to think about because, right now, there are 17+ families and and entire community thinking about the last things they said to their students before they went to school last Wednesday.

My heart is heavy for those families… My heart breaks for them. I pray everyday for them, that somehow in the midst of all this, they feel God’s presence holding them close.

I keep this picture in my phone to remind me to pray

And that is the proper thing to do .. Pray. For these families, for their comfort, for their peace…. Pray. For this school… Pray. For this world… Pray. Pray that parents would once again value the Word of God and bring their children to church. Pray that the distractions that keep us from focusing on the Lord’s instructions would decrease so that our understanding of the Lord would increase. Pray that we (as the church) might play role in the revival of this nation.

Those are all proper responses

And then there have been the improper ones.

Of course, in a time like this, there is going to be some focus on reducing gun violence. There are going to be those who call for stricter laws and more thorough inspection of procedures. Of course there are going to be those who let their emotions surpass what they would normally think, say or do. It is a trying time. In many ways, a little introspection on how we feel about these issues is warranted.

(And I am neither proposing or opposing the implementation of tighter restrictions here)

Those are not the people that bother me. Those are not the ones who have caused my heart to break. Those are not the ones that are keeping me up tonight.

I am more concerned with the ones who are supposed to know what the following words mean, yet have seem to forgotten them here lately:

Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. – Eccl. 5:2

What we need is less divisive conversation and more praying. We need those who know the Lord to worry more about the Gospel and loving others than their own desires and opinions.

Here is the thing:

There is nothing more important than the Gospel.

Let’s make sure that when we are expressing our opinion on non-Gospel related issues, that we do not let our speech (or text) prevent us from sharing ultimate TRUTH with someone down the road.

Let’s pray.

And let’s be who we are called to be.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. – Matthew 5:13

I love you all , all three of you 😉

Keep fighting the good fight.

Pastor John