Newtown

With the deaths of twenty children and eight adults we are confronted with ourselves. Is the sin in us so different from the sin in the one who killed these children? Yes and no.

Yes it is different. It is one thing to hate someone and another to lash out in violence. It is one thing to lack self control but quite another to go on a killing spree.  How can sins like anger, irritability, hate, and rebellion be compared to these murders? 

These are categorically different things right?
 

No they aren't. They are different but not categorically.  

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment" (Matthew 5:21-22b ESV)

These are the same category. There are the same sins in us. When you look at the Newtown tragedy - look at the tragedy that is yourself. Each of us as humans have this capacity.

Each of us has in fact done a worse thing than this - we have offended an infinite loving Father who has created us and all things. We have taken the servants and killed and mistreated them. We have taken the Heir and killed Him.

 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” (Matthew 21:33-41 ESV)

There is something inside all of us that looks at the Newtown tragedy and cries out for justice and resolution. I am in complete and utter confusion as to how or why this tragedy happened. I know it is part of God's plan but I can't figure out how or why. And now that it has happened I want it to be resolved. I want someone to suffer, or I want those who lost their lives to be restored. But part of the tragedy is that there is no resolution for us to bring about. At these moments we realize that life without Christ is meaningless.

But in Christ we find meaning. He will come and, "put those wretches to a miserable death." But the problem is that we are those wretches. We find meaning in Christ when we view the Newtown tragedy as a reflection of our hearts and submit to Him. We find meaning when we join with Christ against His enemies and ask to be forgiven for being His enemies.  We find meaning when we switch allegiance from serving sin to serving Jesus Christ. We find meaning when we realize that there is One who has suffered for sins like the murders in Newtown.

Whose side will we be on?