November 22nd probably started out like any other day in the lives of Mark Renninger, Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold, and Greg Richards. All four were police officers in Lakewood, Washington, a suburb of Seattle. They had gathered at a local coffee shop early Sunday morning just prior to the beginning of their work shifts for the day. One can easily imagine them swapping stories from their previous shift or laughing over a new joke. As they sipped their coffee, maybe the tone was more serious as they discussed a personal problem that was weighing heavily on the one of the group. Regardless of what was running through their minds and conversation, my guess is that they each expected the day ahead of them to be pretty much like any other day.
But all of that changed in an instant. A gunman entered the shop with what appears to be the single purpose of killing the four officers and began firing his weapon. By the time all the shooting was done, all four officers were dead. Two were killed as they sat in their chairs. One was killed as he or she stood to return fire. The last officer managed to engage the shooter in a struggle and fire their own gun, but still died of wounds received.
We just never know what a day will bring, do we? Our lives can change in an instant. We could be victims of a violent crime. We could be involved in a terrible accident. We could be diagnosed with a fatal disease. Any number of events could prove to us that our lives are just a vapor (James 4:14).
What, then, are we to do? Are we to live in constant fear of something terrible happening to us? Of course not. But we can face an unknown future with the calm assurance that, whatever happens, God will never abandon us. With confidence we can affirm: “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man to do me?” (Hebrews. 13:6).
God loves you!
Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment