Call to repentance
TO THE EDITOR:
The massacre of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, is on the minds of many people. The grief stricken husband of one of the teachers dying of a heart attack depicts the shock and sorrow that have come to many parents, siblings, friends and neighbors. Many are questioning why this and the other gun violence in the nation. Guns have been a part of the culture of the United States. Why this random violence in this generation? Let me propose a theological answer:
The denial of original sin (Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19; Romans 3) which tells us, “There is none that does good, no not one…. Their feet are swift to shed blood.” You could ask, as that is true, why do not all of us get an automatic rifle and shoot up our neighbors? Answer, the Christian is given a clean heart and a right spirit as he/she is joined to Christ in baptism and trusts Christ as Savior. “If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). According to this new nature the Christian will love God with all His heart and soul and mind, and his neighbor as himself.
Then why doesn’t every unbeliever follow the example of this 18 year old, purchase a gun, and watch the blood flow? Answer, he is restrained by the law. God’s law serves as a curb (restraint), mirror, and guide. The unbeliever only knows the “curb” or the restraint of the law. The law can include police, public opinion, peer pressure, and a father. He must be made to be afraid to do wrong, to hurt or harm his fellow man.
That fear to do wrong begins in the home. This nation is becoming fatherless America. Men beget children and take no responsibility for them. Penal institutions of our land are filled with people who had no functioning father. This is the result of an immoral culture where marriage is belittled and redefined and sexual relations take place without commitment. So children grow up without father and without restraint. Gang, drugs, violence, and shooting become the order of the day. The enemies of our nation are delighted to see this turn of events. They will promote immorality and denigrate fatherhood.
This tragedy like all crises is a call to repentance. Robert W. Hill
Hook, Texas