We are not even a week into the new year and we already have despicable acts of violence against more innocent people. I took some time this afternoon to watch a little bit of what was going on in Florida and my heart ached. What makes a person shoot innocent people?
The Way It Has Been
Interestingly enough I just read the story of the very first murder in Genesis 4 and the problem is the same one as today. Sin. In the biblical account of Cain and Abel, God warned Cain that if he did not do what was right, sin was crouching at the door desiring to master him. It seems many people just don't take sin too seriously. And sure enough, Cain kills Abel.
But that isn't what was so amazing to me. What caught my eye was this last half of verse 26. This takes place after God gives Adam another son, named Seth, to replace the one he lost to this horrible act of violence. "At that time men began to call on the name of the Lord." (Genesis 4:26)
As tough as the darkness is, light always overcomes it.
Sin is such a powerful force that it separates people from God and works hard to keep them away from God. It was like once Cain decided to follow the rebellion brewing in his heart, that he just kept right on going. It isn't until God intervenes that finally people once again acknowledge the name of the Lord.
Pray
And so we are to really pray for our nation. Pray for the people who would incite acts of violence against innocent people. Pray for those in Florida grieving loss and fearful of what might happen next. Pray that the sin that is crouching at their door would be overwhelmingly conquered by the one who defeated it on the cross, Jesus Christ. And as we start to see the Lord move and work among us, I believe more people will call on the name of the Lord.
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For more on hope for the New Year, check out recent sermons.
Did you have a tough year? Read the previous blog post "You Have Not Been Forgotten"