Gun-related deaths are at a multi decades high. According to Pew Research, almost 49,000 people died from gun deaths in 2021. Over half of those were suicides. And that is still well below other countries like Venezuela, El Salvador and Colombia. Mass shootings are also on the rise. In 2000, there were three instances of mass shooting. By 2021, there were 61 on record for that year. Blame it on the pandemic, volatile politics, increased drug use…the common denominators are always the same: guns and people. 

Murders have existed as a possibility in the human heart since Adam and Eve first sinned in the Garden. Their son was the first murderer. If I can be very clear, the primary problem is not with the gun, but with the human. Guns don’t have a personality and bullets can’t choose a target on their own. A person has to plan the attack and pull the trigger. I’m not making an NRA argument here, I’m just saying what everyone knows to be true: if the human heart isn’t changed, the dark fruits of sin will only continue to grow.

What we all saw Saturday was just one more of those dark, bitter fruits. I have three thoughts to share concerning this. One, the world is a broken place and will remain so until Jesus comes back. That doesn’t mean we need to just accept it, though! We fight evil, stand against injustice and counter the vileness of sin with the grace and love of Jesus. But we must not grow so calloused that we just ‘chalk it up to evil’ and move on. Two, Heaven is as real today as it was when Jesus ascended. God isn’t working on a faith deficiency. Belief in Him doesn’t cause Him to lose power like it does Santa. We don’t have to sing louder so He will work harder. (“Elf” reference) He is perfectly strong, capable and good. His plan and will are being carried out today as clearly as ever. This shooting did not catch God off guard. A broken world will always act out of its sin. It has no other option. Three, it’s long past time for Christians to embrace this world as Jesus does. 

I love the story of the Good Samaritan. I think it needs to be told far more often than it is. In the story, Jesus talks about a man in a desperate situation. He was beaten by robbers and would-be murderers. They left him for dead by the side of the road. Two people who identified with him racially and culturally passed by, but because he was bloody, they dodged him. Does it need to be mentioned that both people claimed to know God? I think so. A third person passed and I’m sure the beaten man thought, “There’s no way this dude is going to stop. He’s a Samaritan. He might beat me up some more!” But that’s not what happened. He didn’t lecture him about traveling a dangerous road. He didn’t offer suggestions for bandaging open wounds. He didn’t give directions to the nearest hospital. This would-be enemy bandaged his broken brother, gave him transportation to the nearest care center and paid his bill in full for several weeks out. His motivation was way beyond political or religious affiliation. He didn’t help because of a racial or cultural affinity. The only motivator here was love.

Jesus told this story because that is exactly how He treats us. There are times to debate and argue and there are times to lay down our weapons and show love. I believe one reason we are seeing a rise in gun-related deaths is because Christians are not showing the love we’ve been given. We spend our time inside church buildings and totally miss the bloodied men in the gutter. Who knows how many Christ followers Saturday’s shooter interacted with in his life, but the odds are in our favor that it was more than just a few. The only way things will begin to change is if those who have new hearts stop skirting the broken world we live in and embrace it. From what I’ve read of Chief Comperatore, the only one whose life was taken in Saturday’s shooting, he would agree.