It's hard to put feelings into words...................................numb is a good word. Shocked is a good word, amazed, surprised, sickened, horrified. I'm not claiming to have all the answers, I'm just an American reacting to this tragedy just like you. As I was sitting in my living room, reading the news on Facebook, my children were playing on the floor behind my chair. They are 2 and 3 years old and had some toy cars and they were crashing them into each other. I heard one of them say, "I'm gonna shoot your car and kill your car!" I immediately started balling. These are my children...only 2 and 3. They are too little to understand. As a mother though, who has my 2 beautiful children at home when some mothers lost theirs today...I couldn't let this incident slide.
I asked my children to sit down on the couch and my oldest asked me why I was crying. "Lord, how do I explain this?" I prayed. "Help me explain this in a way they can understand..." I prayed. "Why are you sad, Mommy?" my baby boy said. I said, "Honey, you can't say that anymore." and I explained to him that he can't say "shoot" or "kill" even if he's just playing or pretending (and I know he was) and when he asked me "why", I thought, "He's too young to understand...he's only 3...he can't possibly handle this...how do I explain this to him?" So this is what I said:
"Honey, there are bad people in this world who do bad things." and he asked me, "Mommy, do they shoot people and kill them?" and I said, "Yes." and he asked, "Why, Mommy? Why they do that?" and I said, "Because of sin." We have a Bible Stories DVD and Bible for Toddlers that we bought them a year ago and it has the story of Adam and Eve in it. This is the most basic way the Lord gave me to explain this situation to my children. I said, "Isaac, do you remember the Bible story we watched on TV about Adam and Eve?" and he said, "Yes." and I asked him, "What do you remember about watching that story?" and he said, "Adam and Eve ate the fruit because the sneaky snake told them to." and I said, "Uh huh, and then what happened?" and Isaac walked over behind the recliner and he said, "Adam and Eve hid from God like this..." and he crouched down behind the recliner and said, "Mommy, can you see me?" and I said, "Nope!" and then his little sister Jenna did the same thing. She crouched down behind the couch and hid and said, "Mommy, can you see me?" and I asked them, "Why did Adam and Eve hide from God?" and Isaac said, "Because they didn't listen to God, they disobeyed..." We've talked about this story A LOT. I said, "Isaac, this man who shot those people did it because he had sin living in his heart...just like Isaac has sin living in his heart, and Jenna has sin living in her heart, and Mommy has sin living in her heart, and Daddy has sin living in his heart...we ALL have sin in our hearts that makes us bad..." and then Isaac named a few of his friends from church and I said, "Yes, they all have sin in their hearts too, but you know what Isaac?" and he said, "What?" and I said, "Jesus is GOOD and Jesus came as a baby on Christmas Day to SAVE us from our sin...that's the whole reason why He came and why we have this tree up and why we are even celebrating His birthday at all...because He came to save us..." and I started crying again.
I don't know why we have to make it so hard. Why do we have to complicate it so much? The concept is really so basic that even a 2-year old can understand it. The very first sin ever committed originated with the very first people God created, Adam and Eve. After that first sin, EVERYONE after them INCLUDING you and me sinned. We've ALL done bad things, each one of us has gone astray, each of us to his own way, and there is no one righteous, not even ONE. There is NOTHING we can do to make ourselves good enough, righteous enough, or right with God. We can't do enough good deeds or works, we can't be good enough people, and there's nothing we can do ON OUR OWN to make it into heaven. We also have "the Christmas box" in our house. It's nothing more than a Christmas tree shaped green box with a decorative, shiny lid. I found it one year while we were pulling out the Christmas decorations and I thought, "What can we put inside of this little box?" and the Lord gave this idea to me. He said, "Put Me inside that box." and He gave me this story to tell Isaac. I took the Christmas box and gave it to Isaac and said, "Here Isaac, I got you a Christmas present!" and he opened it up and said, "But Mommy, there's nothing in here..." and I said, "Sure there is, Jesus is inside!" and I told him that Jesus is the best Christmas present anyone could ever receive and when someone hands Him to you, you pick Him up, put Him inside your heart, and then give the gift to someone else. It's simple when you really think about it. The only way that we can be made right with God because of our sin is to admit we are sinners, accept the free gift of salvation that the Lord Jesus gave us when He died on that cross, and ask Him to be the Lord of our lives. Think about it...God made you so Who knows you better than anyone? Who better to trust with your whole life, your decisions, and your future? Who better to have control of your life than your Maker? Before He formed the world, He knew you. He's writing a story with your life. He knows the beginning and the end...have you ever bothered to ask Him what it's about? Have you ever bothered to ask Him which way to go next?
Ah...*sigh*.....it's cold and gray here today. The weather I mean...it's dreary and sad. I really believe that God makes days like this because He understands how we feel. The Lord knew before any of us woke up today what was going to happen in Newtown, CT. God knew when those children went to school today that they wouldn't be coming home again. God knew those teachers and adults were going to die. God knew that man would kill them all. I'm not saying God made it happen and I'm not saying He caused it...but I am saying He allowed it...and the only answer I have to the question, "Why?" is "Because of sin." The man who did this didn't know Jesus personally.......................but here's the thing..............Jesus died for him anyway.............Jesus forgave him too....................just like Jesus forgave me for my sin.................and just like He forgives you. Do you want to know Him personally today? After this shocking reminder that life is precious, I am reminded that time is running out............don't wait..................you may not have tomorrow. "As it is said, 'Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts...'" ~Hebrews 3:15
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