There are three things I feel on my heart today to share, and I can’t say it is in light of any particular shooting – because there are too many to count – or any particular government authority either, even though I could write a book about that. But these three things can help organize our thoughts regarding our fear, anger, and grief as we live in this shaken, violent, yet beautiful world. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are waiting with me for the return of our King. Until then, we can have hope while we accept what this world is really like and we can share this hope with others.
- Yes, this is trauma. Seeing people get shot on social media is trauma. Watching people jump from burning towers on TV in real time is trauma. Government authorities misusing their power and making radical changes that do not represent the people is trauma. Wars that go on for months and years with women, children, and hospitals being strategically bombed is trauma. Immigrants and people who simply look like immigrants fearing detention, separation from families, and deportation without due process is trauma. Both the transgender movement and the abuse of transgender people is trauma to many. These are truly just a few of the shocking, jarring experiences we are seeing. Those who are living through these things and those who are watching them happen, feeling like they can do nothing to stop it, torn inside, torn outside because of family members and best friends they can’t talk to about their sadness: this is trauma. What makes it a trauma? Because it changes you forever. Is it actually PTSD? No, not for those of us who are just watching. There are very specific symptoms that make up a PTSD disorder. But trauma is not a disorder, trauma is an experience, an experience that makes you, your brain, your spirit, feel like a line has been crossed, like a very scary precedent has been set. Humanity’s line has been crossed. And yes, that is trauma.
- Yes, this is absolutely nothing new. Just because it is new to me means very little. As we look through history books, we can remember that this world has always been a dark place since sin entered the world. Is the world getting darker? I really don’t know that it is. Think of the Holocaust. Think of WWII when kids were sent from the major cities to the countryside, to strangers. Can you imagine parents’ fear and the kids’ anxiety? Think of the Roman occupation and crucifixions of anyone who defied their rule. Think of West Africans being kidnapped from their villages, torn from families and enslaved for the next generations by white people. To be perfectly honest, there are people here in the United States whose lives are a living hell and always have been because of an abusive father, an alcoholic mother, or poverty that led to forced prostitution. To them, they can absolutely say this darkness, this fear, and this pain is nothing new. Yes, that is depressing, but it must be said because we need to see that our privilege has led us to think this is something outrageously new. No, it is just darkness, sin, confusion, the work of the enemy, and the pride of humanity showing up in new ways. One of the worst insults to add upon injury is when what is evil is called good, and what is good is called evil. Look for these as hard things happen, see if that is partly why the darkness feels so dark right now. To me, this is the addition to the darkness that makes it extra hard to bear.
- Yes to Jesus, yes to accurate, culturally sound teaching of the Bible, and yes to the Church: Friends, Jesus is still the answer. He is at the right hand of the throne of God interceding for us. He is speaking to His sheep, yearning for them to hear His voice, and calling them in to take refuge in Him. He is tarrying that others may come to know Him because He loves the whole world and everyone in it. The Bible is still relevant truth to live by, with accurate ways to handle problems if we would abide by it whether we like parts of it or not. If we do not lower our pride and humble ourselves, adhering ourselves to the ways of Jesus, we will drown in the fear, sadness, and anger of these traumas. The Church can still be a beautiful force of kindness, humility, and servanthood to the world if we would focus on what our job here is. Since this is my blog and just my opinion, I am going to take a stab here at what I believe our job is: To live in this world, strategically seeing all people as precious souls who need to experience the characteristics of Jesus through us. As we abide in Christ, we have His Spirit who overflows out of us. Some of Jesus’s characteristics are protecting the least of these, speaking against authority that calls good evil and evil good, calling people up to a healed and whole life. He was never militant, degrading, violent, or demanding to be heard or seen. He carried a grace and confidence as He obeyed His Father. He wept, He cared, He loved, He gave Himself away. He carried our traumas, our sins, and all sin-trauma-wounds done to us to the Cross, and by His stripes we are healed, so those sin-trauma-wounds do not define us anymore or continue to haunt us. This is part of the living Hope we offer. We are in this world at a hard time, but a strategic time. Lord, help each of us see precisely why we are here for such a time as this and send us out of our homes each day (or to our prayer closets) to be Jesus. By Your grace and Spirit’s power living in us, paired with humility on our parts, we can represent You well and be a beacon of Light. Father, we are so divided right now that honestly, we do not represent You much at all. Please help us, please help the Church, to not fail at such a time as this to take refuge in you and provide Your refuge to others.
