It’s hard to imagine the mindset of the Algerian Al Qaeda operative in France who recently murdered three Jewish school children, a Rabbi, and three French paratroopers. He states his only regret is that he didn’t have time to murder more innocent people.
He did it all in the name of his radical version of the Muslim religion and believes that if he dies with his weapons in hand that he will arrive in heaven as an honored martyr where he will receive his great reward to include a harem of beautiful virgins who will cater to his every whim forever.
We hear so much about murder and mayhem taking place in this country that many of us just seem to take it in stride anymore. Not me. My little six year old twin granddaughters are spending their spring break holiday with us this week. They attend a Christian school and are brought to school each day by my son and/or his wife. As I watch them playing and having fun, I just cannot seem to get the horror of those three little innocent Jewish girls being murdered along with their daddy as they drove up to their school that morning from my mind.
I watched parts of O’Reilly on Fox News last night as he interviewed an African American pastor who lives in Chicago’s Southside district. O’Reilly mentioned the nationwide furor, shock, and awe that developed when Al Capone mowed down eight gangsters in a killing spree. How odd it seems that in just the past few months 47 people have been shot with ten killed in this section of Chicago and no one has hardly seemed to notice, much less mount a nationwide uproar to eradicate these murderers and thugs from our society.
I teared up myself as I watched the inconsolable grief of the mother of one of the victims, an innocent little six year old girl. Her mother sobbed uncontrollably as she described how her little girl “loved going to school”. She grieved over the insanity of the senseless drive by shooting of her daughter by those “animals”.
O’Reilly asked his guest who was responsible for killing all these people, and he responded that it was young men in their early twenties. O’Reilly noted that hundreds of millions of state and federal dollars have been poured into this particular neighborhood, but it all was to no avail and it hasn’t changed anything. He then asked the pastor what could be done. He stammered around a little talking about collaboration among the community, but never did really answer the question.
Hmmm… I would think the answer is easy, especially for a pastor; albeit it is no doubt politically incorrect in our modern society. That community and the world need Jesus Christ. As I think about the peace and serenity that surrounds me at Honey Lake Plantation it is difficult to envision living in a community such as Chicago’s Southside; however I’ve lived in some places that were near identical and my evil mindset wasn’t far from some of those lost souls that were just described. The difference today is that I have Jesus Christ in my life and back then I didn’t.
Shortly after becoming president Obama declared to the world that we are not a Christian nation. He seems to think this is a positive thing. I think that it is a sad commentary on our great country. What he doesn’t seem to understand is that hope, peace, joy, and love cannot be bought with federal or state dollars. It can only be found in Jesus Christ. What the world (including Southside Chicago) needs is to hear the word of God and what the United States needs is to return to being a Christian nation. Please restore us O Lord…
2 Chron. 7:14
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.