Death and Devastation

As we all shudder in horror at the brutal killing of George Floyd, and as we watch terrifying footage of looting and burning and devastation in Minneapolis, we have to pause and consider:  What is going on? What kind of society do we live in?  What have we become?

Let me give a word of caution (mostly to myself):  It’s easy to watch from a distance in a condescending way, and to think, “How can they do that?  We’d never do that!”  But wisdom cuts in and compels us to think again.  And humility begs us to ask why is it that we aren’t the ones causing the grief or suffering the pain.  Would we take credit for somehow being above such things?  Are we “better” than those who’ve sinned?  Are we kept from being hurt because we don’t deserve it?  “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone” (John 8:7).

It’s by God’s grace that all who are in Christ are saved.  We brought no merit to the table; all we had to offer was our sin and need.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).  The gospel undercuts all pride.

And it should also fuel compassion and a readiness to serve and love neighbors—and even enemies (Luke 6:27-28, 35).  After all, though we’re not saved by good works, we are saved unto good works:  “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

So I say to myself (and to anyone else who may need to listen in):  Beware of pride as you’re taking in the sorrow and processing the human wreckage.  Don’t allow your heart to look down on those who cause or who suffer such violence.  Instead, remind yourself of the way that God sees people, everyone:

We’re all made in his image—made with the capacity and need to know the Lord and find our purpose in relationship to him.  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).  This is true of every human being—regardless of age or ability or mental capacity or race or ethnicity or culture or gender or personality or political views.

Another universal facet of the human experience is this:  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  “None is righteous, no, not one” (3:10).  “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).  Every person has dishonored the Lord by thought and word and deed.

And here’s something else that’s true about everyone:  Jesus says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  The “world”—that’s all of us.  God’s great gospel truth is that his arms of love are open to all, to the whole world—again, to people of every background and vocation and language and temperament and orientation and worldview, etc.!

So we’re saved by God’s grace.  We’re sustained and kept by God’s grace (Jude 24).  No one is above needing God’s grace.  Which means we’re all on a level playing field when it comes what matters most:  being made by God and for God as bearers of the image of God.  So, key question:  Is that how you see vicious and senseless sinners—and clean and tidy sinners?

In The Weight of Glory, C. S. Lewis reflects on what it means to be human:  “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit…” (pp. 45-46).

“Father, give us eyes to see as you see.”  Amen.