Why?

 

In the aftermath of the Newtown shootings one question continues unanswered – Why? Some say mental illness, others say medications and personality disorder. Many are at a loss even attempting to answer the question of why.  The Governor of Connecticut simply but accurately said, “Evil has visited this community today”. 

 

If we are to accept evil as the answer to why these deaths occurred, then we must ask where does evil come from. Is evil a random force that wanders the world looking for someone to attack? Or is evil more personal? Is evil something that you and I are intimately acquainted with?

 

G.K. Chesterton, the noted British author, is said to have responded to the question, “What is wrong with the world”, by saying “I am”. I believe Chesterton is right. The Bible says:

 

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
    and desperately wicked.
    Who really knows how bad it is?” Jer. 17:9

 

To understand the awful evil of Newtown, we need only to look at ourselves. All of us, apart from the overwhelming power of God’s mercy, are willing slaves to evil. No, we may not have pulled the trigger in Newtown. But, we are all so desperately evil, that only the most unfair act in history could save us from our own sins, our own evil. Like many of you, tears came to my eyes as I learned the details of the murder of these children. It was wrong. It was unfair. It was shocking. However, these thoughts pale in comparison to the wrath that was unfairly poured out upon Jesus. He took the punishment for my sins on the cross where I should have been nailed. Unlike those slain in Newtown, Christ was truly and fully innocent. He who knew no sin became guilty for me, for you. We should weep for Newtown. We should weep even more for the love of Christ displayed on the cross.

 

Why Newtown? The answer is that mankind has rejected the truth of God and has attempted to solve problems as he thinks best. He has believed the lie of Satan. This is where evil comes from. 


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