by Andy Clapp
A day meant to be set aside for each of us to express the love that we feel for others was marred by an action of anything but love at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. The thoughts of this day would be transformed from the admiration of a girlfriend or a boyfriend to the hope and fight to escape a shooter who had entered the classroom. It is something that we have seen happen too often in recent years and each time, we continue to wonder why this one happened.

Reading about the acts of heroism that took place on that day gives us a sense of peace, letting us know that there are still people in this world who will be a Good Samaritan in the time of need. However, why was their act of heroism a necessity? Have we really looked at the root of the problem in the first place and begun to act accordingly to prevent these things from happening again?

Immediately, we learn the history of the shooter and reports began to pour in that he had stopped taking prescriptions in the weeks preceding the shooting. We learn about his video game habits and we even learned about the packages that he had sent to his girlfriend. These facts, also presented with his work history and his college status, were widely reported, as people looked to see what would make him act in this manner. They presented the names of the victims and their ages and showed coverage of the candlelight vigils that would take place there on the campus.

The religious aspect of this massacre, as well as all of the others, is what is being neglected in the television coverage and print coverage of the incident. This tragedy, as well as all of the others in the past, shows us that there is a spiritual problem that is prevalent in our country. As we fall further away from God in all aspects of daily life, we see more things of this nature taking place and they will only continue. The outrage will last a short time, except for those who are directly involved, and Americans will go on being Americans until the next tragedy strikes.

There was a time in this country’s existence when “One Nation under God” actually meant something. It meant that we stood under the power and on the principles and Word of the Almighty God. As years have passed, we have begun to stand on anything but God, believing in our own false sense of power and our diluted sense of that which is right and wrong.

Look at the Bible for a second and notice what happens to those people and those places that blatantly reject God. Sodom and Gomorrah was wiped out by fire that rained down from above. The Egyptians had been given warning sign after warning sign to let go of the people of God, but they refused and as they chased the Hebrews, they perished in the Red Sea. These are just a couple of examples that we have been given, but to them we still reply, “Oh, that would not happen to us.”

It is happening to us and we have failed to take notice. We are falling farther away from God and Christians have begun to believe that no stance is the right stance because it is politically correct. With sin being the driving force of our culture, the pressure and the accountability is on us to turn that tide, first in our own lives and then in others lives by showing them the benefit of living a life that glorifies God. We cannot worry about persecution and we cannot take our charge nonchalantly, we have to stand with fervor for the Most High God.

This is yet another tragedy that we will have to have in the annals of our countries history. For those who lived it or lost someone as a result of it, it will be something that will forever scar a part of their lives. For Christians, it is a plea for us to begin acting as we are called to act and to live with the passion for Christ that will cause others to follow that lifestyle and not seek vengeance or violence, regardless of what they face in their own lives. Without God, we are all without hope, but now that we have God, we need to give that hope to those who need it. This tragedy shows us that there are many still out there that need a personal walk with the Lord. Our world is waiting for us to show them how.

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