Shooting on Campus
Two people are dead and six injured after a shooting on the campus of Florida State University. The gunman is believed to be a 20-year-old student. Law enforcement officers shot and detained the suspect just a few minutes into the shooting, likely saving lives. While the gunman is hospitalized, his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Analysis and eternal perspective: The brokenness is everywhere. It seems impossible to fathom each time a violent act like this occurs. And yet, given the brokenness, it also feels inevitable. What are you, a Jesus follower, to do with that complicated juxtaposition?
John 16:33 says, “In this world you will have trouble.” It is a certainty. But it is not a license to fear or simply concede to the trouble. It is, in fact, an invitation to “take heart” and “have peace,” because your God says, “I have overcome the world.”
You, a broken person, live in a very broken world. But there is way for your heart to be strengthened and fortified. There is a way to operate in a manner of peace even when it shouldn’t be possible. It is not by trying harder or learning new “coping” skills. It is achieved by yielded to the One who has overcome the present world and who has gone ahead to prepare you a place in the world that is to come (Jn. 14:3).
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.