An Op-ed From An Emmaus Community Member

Violence
by Richard Evans
Today our country experienced another example of senseless and inexplicable violence against scores of totally innocent people. At least 33 students at Virginia Tech died and many others were seriously injured. We still have few answers and countless questions about what happened and why. How could anyone feel so much anger and channel it into such violent behavior? Why were those people the targets of that violence? Could anyone or anything have prevented it?

We live in a world of violence. There is far too much violence in our homes directed against spouses and directed against children. There is violence on our streets and in our workplaces. We’ve see violence in our places of worship. We read about it daily. It headlines our news programs virtually every time we turn on the television or radio. Hopefully we’ll never understand it, we’ll never become complacent to it, and it will always shock us out of a sense of complacency.

Officials will seek new ways to protect us from these acts of violence with mixed results. In the long run, perhaps the best plan is to turn to the Lord for guidance and some sense of understanding. Embrace His ministry. Teach the world to be brothers and sisters embracing each other. Help them achieve a sense of belonging, a sense that there is value in their life and in the lives of all God’s children. Perhaps when they can recognize their own worth and value, recognize that they are loved by the Creator of the universe; then they will begin to sense the worth and value in the lives of others.

Until such time as each of us has a belief in the worth and dignity of all mankind and each of us has a relationship with God; we can look forward to more news stories that remind us of the violent nature that is within mankind. I pray for a day when we all find a way to let God guide our actions and show us the beauty of a world filled with peace.

God bless you all!


Embracing the Lord,
Jan and Richard Evans