On Wednesday June 19th at around 9pm, during Bible Study, a lone gunman walked into the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and opened fire, killing nine members. Some have labeled this a hate crime, while others consider his actions an act of terrorism. Whatever your thoughts, one thing can be certain, Black churches have long been the focus of racial hatred since the beginnings of this country as we know it.
The fallout from this shooting has proven to be very different than from times past. Many Christians of all colors have begun discussing the idea of armed security and metal detectors, in an effort to stop such violent acts. No matter what you feel is the solution; it must start with God’s word. Why? Because doing anything other than that, gives Satan his victory.
When emotions are high, we run the risk of contaminating our thoughts and judgments on how Jesus wants us to respond… after all, we are ‘striving to be like Him’. So it was natural for me to try and find an example that Christ himself left us. The best example can be found in Matthew 26:47-53. Here is the story where Judas fulfills his destiny and betrays Christ. As the guards approached, Peter quickly drew his sword to protect Christ (much like the gun would protect worshippers today). After drawing his sword, Peter hacked off the ear of one of the high priest’s guards, who was there to arrest Christ.
