How can we be salt and light in a world filled with tragedy?

In the 911 call recording, you can hear Tiffany trying to keep it together. Behind her, children are crying. She shushes them repeatedly, trying to keep her own panicked breathing under control. She’s insisting that she hears gunshots. In the background, sirens wail.

The school shooting that happened at The Covenant School on March 27th of this year is one of the uglier of multiple mass murders beginning to haunt the United States: Uvalde, Columbine, Sandy Hook. Every American knows these words.

It’s tempting in our time to wonder: how could Jesus possibly understand such an evil, violent world?

Friend, he does.

Jesus was born into and grew up during one of the most violent times in known human history. Matthew tells us that such was Herod the Great’s paranoia and fury at the idea of another king, he had all the boy toddlers in Bethlehem rounded up and murdered.¹

According to scholar Mark Strauss, regarding the death of that same Herod in 4 B.C., he left instructions.

As an act of final vengeance against his rebellious subjects, he [Herod the great] rounded up leading Jews and commanded that at his death they should be executed. His reasoning was that if there was no mourning for his death, at least there would be mourning at his death. (The order was never carried out.)²

Herod the Great shows us just a slice of the violence and danger that filled Jesus’ world and dogged his every step during his ministry. Though Jesus’ crucifixion is the most famous in history, historians tell us that in the ancient world, he is one of thousands of people who were hung on a cross to die.

Jesus was surrounded by violence; he witnessed death and fear; he has the compassion and understanding we need in 21st-century America. So how should Jesus’ followers respond to what happens today?

We must look to Christ, not the government.

As Christians, we must be wary of the faux emotional release that comes from expressing our political opinions on social media. Many of our brothers and sisters think the best way to stop gun violence is by banning guns; many believe that it’s by better arming teachers and security guards. But let’s admit it: personal opinions about gun laws do next to nothing. And let us be careful not to call our brothers and sisters in Christ enemies. Neither your side nor the one you disagree
with want more children to die.

In fact, the entire political spectrum offers false comfort: gun laws cannot do what needs to be done. They cannot raise the dead. Only Christ’s return will do that.

Isaiah 11 identifies itself as an ancient prophecy about the Messiah Jesus. The section goes on to talk about how this Messiah will be a righteous judge: he will defeat evildoers and judge people with spiritual enlightenment, not just by considering physical evidence. The chapter tells us that violence and danger will end:

Isaiah 11:6–9

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the
bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.The nursing
child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the
weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the
LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 2 adds to this picture when it talks about the coming Kingdom of God:

Isaiah 2:4

“and they [the peoples] shall beat their
swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning
hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.”

We Christians know, love, and serve a God who is unfolding His plan to put a stop to all violence, be it in the animal kingdom, between nations, or otherwise, forever.

Consider these two verses from the penultimate chapter of Revelation:

Revelation 21:3–4

Behold, the dwelling place of
God is with man.… He will wipe away every tear from
their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall
there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for
the former things have passed away.

This is the Christian hope: at the end of this age and through all the eternal age, God will fix everything that’s wrong with the world. We must soften our hearts.

We Christians must also refuse the temptation to harden our hearts against evil when it happens to someone else. Like the purposeless emotional release of social media posts, convincing ourselves that tragedy is someone else’s problem (or fault) is false emotional protection—it’s hardening one’s heart.

In Matthew 9, Jesus shows us a soft heart. It says that he “saw the crowds, [and] he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matt 9:35–36 ESV).

Jesus could easily have distanced himself from the suffering of Israel’s people by thinking to himself, “Those people are nothing like me. They sin; I’m the Son of God.” He could have closed his eyes to their problems, telling himself that as the one who would die for them, he was already doing enough. Instead, he saw their suffering, and he let it move him to compassion. As his followers, we should not shrink from noticing the suffering of others. We must be willing to pray with those who are afraid.

I remember when I was diagnosed with cancer, almost two years ago. Specifically, I remember talking to a friend of mine on the phone about it. I had called asking for prayer, and in the course of our conversation, this friend mentioned that they “didn’t want to hear the details.”

Unbidden, a furious thought forced itself into my mind: “Me neither. But that’s not a luxury I have. You see, this is happening to me.”

My friend was obviously just uncomfortable hearing my suffering. And rightfully so! Suffering is uncomfortable! Listening to someone talk about their pain, mourning, anxiety, or sadness is no fun at all. Better to slap a “you should pray about that” on it and walk smugly away, feeling the faux emotional relief that comes from knowing you had something to say. Lord knows that my teenaged self could have done with about a hundred more “you-should-pray-about-that”s. Had I prayed more, I may have avoided many crises.

But James cautions us against using words instead of real help: “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” (Jas 2:15–16 ESV).

From the darkest moments of my life, I still remember the people who sat with me, put their arms around me, and, instead of advising me to pray, prayed out loud themselves. I remember the people who nodded (with eye contact) and said, “I don’t know. But I’ll be here.”

In the U.S., most children attend public school, and all of them are at some risk for gun violence. Like most nightmares, these facts make fertile ground for Christians to show compassion and love. So, when your neighbor tells you about how she felt when there was a bomb threat or a shooter prank at her children’s school, tell her, “Next time that happens, call me. I’ll pray for your child until I hear the situation is resolved.” Keep an eye out for situations that arise in your town, and when they do, check in with your parent-friends to see how or if you can support them.

There may be a time to talk to your friends about how in Christ we find hope for the world. As Christians, we are equipped to comfort our friends and neighbors with the good news.

And, God forbid, if violence comes to a school near you, be there. Mourn. Help. Encourage. Embrace. Ask God for strength to show His compassion and fulfill your identity in Christ—be Jesus’ hands and feet.

1. See Matthew 2[↩]
2. Mark Strauss, “Luke,” in Matthew, Mark, Luke, vol. 1 of Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: New Testament. ed. Clinton E. Arnold; Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 330.[↩]