This week there is news of a murder committed by a neighbor of ours, who went to NYC and carried out a vicious act of senseless violence. We did not know him. Honestly, I don’t recall ever seeing him. It seems that he has made statements of “hate for black people” as the motive for his crime.
I have yet to meet a little child with hate in their heart for people with a different skin color. God did not create us that way. Anger is dangerous. Evil is real.
It is my belief that we are of one human race. God created ethnic traits as a beautiful expression of his creativity that are to be celebrated. We can create culture out of our identity, each of us created in the image of God.
Yes it’s true, God notices murder. He notices each one. He saw the first murder and he said that the “blood cried out to him from the ground”. Our Father God made it clear from the beginning that this should not be.
We see in Psalm 34:18 that God is close to the brokenhearted. We believe that God is alive, aware, able, and active. We believe that God can bring a miracle of grace and peace even in the face senseless violence.
As a white man, I have confessed, repented of, and sought forgiveness of my own sins and many times done the same for the sins of other white men.
Let each of us do the same. Let us then pray the prayer of Jesus toward others, “Father forgive them.”
It is time for us to pray for each person affected by each murder.
Sadly in Baltimore this is something that we pray about every week.
Please join me in prayer:
May each person who commits a murder repent of their sins turn to Jesus and find forgiveness and New Life.
May each family member, neighbor, friend impacted by murder receive the miracle peace that’s available through Jesus may we draw closer to each other.
May we get to know each other better.
May we love God with all our heart and we love our neighbor in the same way that he first loved us.
May we see an end to murder, here, now.
Pastor Ben Malmin 