Murder, The Boston Marathon and Jesus

Protesting is Not Evangelizing

I wanted to blog about issues – or more importantly issues that the Christian community tends to focus their sights on and attack with vigor. I wanted to talk about how it’s a great atrocity when Christians focus so much on individual issues that they forget – or worse yet, neglect –  the individuals that represent the issue.

Instead I want to relive a story, one of the first in the history of Beki and I’s relationship. It was around June of 2009 and we had barely met. We were in a Bible study and at issue was a local tragedy. Here’s the story:

2 men robbed a bank and made off in a getaway car in the small local town. After a reign of terror all through western Missouri they were in a shoot out with police and then taken into custody. The 2 men were apprehended and thrown in jail. Or, that’s the story I remember.

That Sunday we were in Sunday School and the attendees were mourning the thought of such heinous crimes. They were talking about the hardships and how we must pray for the fallen and those at the bank etc… Not once did I hear the culprits mentioned – not once did someone mention what a tragedy it was for those 2 young boys caught in atrocious sin and the families caught in the emotional turmoil of knowing they produced offspring capable of committing such a crime.

That is, no one but Beki and I. It’s funny how are hearts were connected right off the bat. We both mentioned that as a church we are called to love even the worst of sinners and pray for everyone, not just those it is easiest to pray for. I said something along the lines of this, “As a church we should be up there talking to these two young men, praying with them and telling them there is hope out of their sin and that hope is in Jesus – whom we want to share with you.”

Instead we got a less than pleasing response. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room and it was as though I were slandering and stomping on the rights of the community to mourn. The concept was foreign to this small country church unfamiliar with murder, robbery and crime on such a drastic level.

I remember this story as I contemplate the bombings in Boston and the tragedy that rocked the marathon today. The horror behind the retold stories by those at the finish line when the bomb went off are gruesome and saddening. My heart goes out to the families of the victims and mourns with America now as we deal with yet another terrorist attack on our homeland, the place where we should feel the safest.

Yet behind every prayer I pray for the victims, my heart mourns also for those who committed the act. I pour out in petition prayers for the families of those who have offspring willing to go through with this. I mourn at the thought that these men need help, they need someone to love them and show them love; because it is the lack of love they were willing to hurt others. I am shaken to the core at the thought that they don’t know a loving God who loves them and was so in love with them that he died for all their sins – even this extreme one!

I’m not calling you to pray for them – heck, that’s hard for anyone. I only ask you to consider, in all the pleas that we will see, to look and try to find someone, anyone who ever mentions that we need to pray for the attackers. Look and see and you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who is willing to silence a room and say, “Why don’t we go and wrap our arms around the murderers and talk to them about a peaceful, loving and most of all forgiving God whom we serve.