I make a point to be more cheery in my blogs than I am being in this post, but there are times when mourning is more appropriate than mirth. The other day, I thought I would take the easy route with this week's post. I thought I would simply use my midterm essay from my English class and call it good. Then, I talked with my mom.
Some time ago, and many of you will remember this, there was a shooting at the Umpqua Community Collage. I had known about this event for sometime, and while I was surprised to hear the name Umpqua as many from my home county would consider it for their college, I had not vested much time and effort into learning more about it. I could make excuses like I would forget, or that I am too busy, unfortunately, the truth is much less forgiving. I thought to myself: "Oh dear, another shooting. Christians were among the victims? That's terrible. I bet that they'll use this as another 'anti-gun rights' platform." I then left it at that, not believing there was much more to learn from the story. This leads back to my conversation with my mom, and the conviction that my heart was encumbered with.
She asked me a simple question, "You know Sherrie Moore died, right?" At first I couldn't place the name, it was familiar, yet at the same time eclipsed by the ever expanding shadow of fading memory. She reminded me that it was a boy named Kenneth's mom, from my hometown. Once I realized who she was talking about, I felt rather sorry. Sherrie had lived a hard life, she wasn't a mentally fully functioning adult, and her son was developmentally disabled. I thought to myself how hard it was going to be for her son--a boy that I had gone to birthday parties with and had seen at various events in my hometown of Hayfork. Then my mom told me something that knocked me back: "She died in the Oregon shooting." My head spun for a moment, I couldn't believe it.
In my life, I have seen numerous tragedies on TV or heard about them on the radio, but they were always a world away; Texas, New York, Southern California, foreign countries, never were they something that effected me personally. This news shook me, and I regretted not looking more into the matter before. My mom told me that Sherrie was confined to a wheel chair and that she had a service dog, and when the gunmen asked her if she was religious she told him she was a Christian; he then sent her to meet the Lord. Once my mom told me all of this, I knew that I had to look into the story.
I have since learned that yes, political backlash has already been felt from the tragedy. Anti-gun rights groups demand stricter policies, pro-gun advocates argue that guns are not at fault and could have resolved the situation sooner, people are demanding that the relation between pharmaceutical drugs and mass-killing events be properly investigated and reported. Yet, amidst all of the political grandstanding, I feel as if something has been missed. Nine people have lost their lives, and at least as many injured, a community is devastated, and families' lives have been shattered as their loved ones have been taken away from them. The problem isn't guns, lack of guns, or even mind-crumbling drugs, the problem is that we are a broken people living in a broken world.
I know many will argue that religious beliefs may not have been a significant factor in this tragedy, however I know from my own convictions that the truth is to the contrary. We live in a world that is divided between those that live in the light, and those that live in the dark. In the beginning of the book of John, a clear division between the light and the darkness is illustrated, with God being the light. That light indwells His children and Jesus says of Christians, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14. Regarding those of darkness, Jesus had this to say: "And this is the condemnation, that that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." John 3:19-20. I realize that I may be coming off as preachy, but this is simply how I see these events. They are the manifestation of evil and an example of hatred in full bloom. Further more, as astounding and heart wrenching as these events are, they happen all over the world everyday. 14,000 Christians were reportedly martyred for their faith in 2014 alone. These events are not new, Americans are simply blessed by having them be a rare occurrence. Victims of a war that much of the world doesn't know even is being waged.
I'm sure that by now, many of you are asking, "what does this have to do with love?" Well, it might simply be the self-assured confidence of youth, however I feel that I learned the true definition of love a long time ago; and it is not the kind that the entertainment society is always peddling. Love, in its most basic definition, is the active demonstration of how much something is valued. That may sound complicated, but it's rather simple. If you care for something, you will act on how much you care for it accordingly by giving up something you could use for yourself for the thing that is cared for, whether it be time, energy, or resources. If you care about something only a little, you may just spare a few dollars, while if you love something deeply you will devote everything to it. Regarding love, Jesus had this to say: "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." John 15:13. To give up one's own life for the sake of someone or something, is the greatest demonstration of love anyone can give--there is no greater self-sacrifice than to say "I value this more than my life."
Sherrie had lived a hard life, however, I know that she will be eternally blessed in ways I cannot even imagine, because when someone asked her "how much do you care about Jesus?" she answered, "Completely." I don't know if I will ever find myself in a position to make such a decision, to choose loving my life or loving my Lord, but I hope that if I do, I will have the courage that was demonstrated by Sherrie.
P.S. A short video regarding Sherrie can be found at:http://wqad.com/2015/10/10/oregon-shooting-victims-service-dog-now-a-comfort-to-her-fiance/
Image Source: http://www.army.gov.au/Our-history/Traditions/In-Flanders-Fields