"There But for the Grace of God, Go I"

Genesis 6:5) The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

     As I woke up this morning to the tragic news of the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado, I was reminded again of the horrific evil man is capable of. I watched the news reports and listened to witnesses give a 'play by play' of what took place in the theatre. About 30 minutes ago our President of the United States who was on a campaign rally in Florida, gave an address not on politics but rather on the tragedy in Colorado. In his address, he asked a question I imagine many Americans will ask, will want to ask, or already are asking, "how could someone do such a horrific evil act of violence?"
      The President's question is like asking, "why do bad things happen to good people?" The question asked is from a humanistic worldview rather than a biblical worldview. The problem with this question as well as President Obama's is the presumption there are 'good people.' Paul in his letter to the Romans declared, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12). The Scriptures clearly teache man is not righteous, he does not seek God, man is worthless, and does no good outside of knowing His Creator. Quiet the contrast to what the world says about people today when they say, "he is such a good person." Men, women, boys and girls are in need of something greater than themselves, namely to be reconciled to God by His redemption through Christ Jesus, because man has utterly fallen and separated from His Creator.

      So, why does man need to be reconciled or made right with God? The answer is giving by what took place in Colorado earlier this morning, the evil and wickedness of humans. Moses writes of this before God destroys all His creation, "God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."Some perhaps would disagree with me when I say, "the evil and wickedness upon earth today is no worse than in Noah's days, only there is more people to carry it out." This tragic event which took place is not because of this mans upbringing or lack of education, rather it stems from a separation from him knowing and enjoying His Creator forever through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

     To answer the question which has been proposed, "how could someone do such a horrific evil act of violence?" is because man in his natural state is fallen, who are in need of being redeemed by their Creator, the One who created them in His image. The storyline of Scripture teaches us that in God's creation everything was good, than man fell in sin (sin entered in the world through one man, Adam), but I am grateful God provided a covering in killing an animal sacrifice to cover our sin rather than killing man (which He would have been just in doing) which ultimately points to our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor.5:21).

     As we pray for these families who has lost their loved ones and try to answer the questions of others, let us remember the 'wickedness of man' in Genesis 6:5 is as real today as it was then. Let us remember our own evil and wickedness which lies in our own hearts. The evil and wickedness of man is alive and well in the world we live in, it is in our country, in the states we live in, it is in our communities, and it is even in our own homes, with our children, our spouses, and even within ourselves. What I am trying to say is this; if it were not for the restraining grace of God, it could have been me or you going into a movie theatre and going on a mass killing spree this morning. Everyone because of the effects of the fall in Genesis 3 has the capability to commit such acts of evil. As the early English Reformer John Bradford has been famously quoted, "there but for the grace of God, go I."

     I am grateful for God's restraining grace. I am thankful for mercy and grace in showing me my sin, providing me for away of escape and in bringing me into a relationship with Himself. I am thankful my sins have been forgiven and I have access to the throne room of God grace and mercy. If you today do not know your Creator, the One who made you in His image, gave you life, and purpose, I pray He would show your need of forgiveness and the need to be redeemed by the precious blood of the lamb slained before the foundation of the world.