Shootings
Three people are dead and several more injured after a 15-year-old girl opened fire in a private school in Madison, Wisconsin. The deceased include a teacher, a teenage student, and the shooter. A second-grade student was reportedly the first to call 911 after shots were fired inside Abundant Life Christian School. Authorities have identified and named the suspected shooter and are still working to determine a motive.
Meanwhile, the 26-year-old man accused of killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson has retained a high-profile defense attorney. The suspect is charged in Manhattan where the crime occurred, but is being held in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he was located and arrested. One of the first legal questions to be decided is whether he will be extradited to New York for prosecution.
Analysis and eternal perspective: It is so hard to see the beautiful in these stories. The True seems a bit more straightforward: Each of the deceased is a precious soul created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27) and the taking of their life is an evil act that violates God’s law (Ex. 20:13) as well as man’s law. The shooter in Wisconsin is dead, but the pursuit of justice for the alleged shooter in New York will take some time to play out.
It will also take time—assuredly until eternity—for the families of the victims in each case to work through their grief. The separation and the loss they now walk through is a devastating consequence of the brokenness in our world.
As Jesus followers, we can and should do several things to view this story through the lens of the beautiful: 1) We should pray for the families of the deceased, that they would be comforted and the memories of their loved ones would be cherished, 2) We should be reflective about how to mend the personal and collective fissures evident around us that eventually lead to such evil, and 3) We should treasure every day with our loved ones as though it could be our last on this side of eternity (Ps. 90:12). This best enables us to apply ourselves to the things and the tasks that are secure forever.
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Ps. 90:12).
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.