by Pastor David Smith
The voice within a bullet never lasts
Most people call that murder.
Yet, if we’ve read about both stories, some may find more empathy swelling for Stephen T. Johns, the security guard who was on duty at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum. He was innocent, not hurting a soul…just doing his job.
For Dr. George Tiller, doing his job is what cost him his life. He was one of the nation’s leading abortionists. Many would say he was not innocent, and that he was not just hurting tens of thousands of lives…but killing them. Of course, he had been shot before. But not like this. Not in his place of worship.
So what, you may say. He deserved it, floods your mind. He’s no Christian, come the cries.
True? False? Who knows? Maybe that’s not for us to judge. Two men are dead, murdered by the reckless hate that spawns in hurting hearts. Some may think that one man deserved his fate, but the other didn’t.
But there’s a downside to the word deserve.
It implies that some of us deserve something better than others. It implies that our measuring stick of deserve is simply each other. I’m better than you, so I deserve the prime promotion. Or, you’re better than me, so you deserve the Prom Queen on your arm.
What if our measuring stick was different? Look at the murder of Dr. George Tiller. He was within his church walls at the time of being shot. The mainstream Christian belief is that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, sent down to earth in the form of a man to die on the cross for our sins and to rise again to give us new, eternal life. That’s their ‘mantra,’ their belief, their reason for existing. Their measuring stick is Jesus…a sinless, innocent man who gave his life for those who do not deserve it. There’s that word again. In this priceless process, he redefines the definition of deserve. No one deserves his grace, love, mercy, and salvation. You can only accept it. It’s a gift that we unwrap and are changed by, inside out.
The downside of us defining who deserves what is that we end up playing judge. We end up making the rules and designating the kings and minions of the land. Let’s leave that alone. Two men are dead. Two families are crippled with pain. And now many of us may feel the urge to pull a new trigger and judge what has happened to each man.
Let’s leave it alone.
The voice within a bullet never lasts.
