Darkness Shall Not Overcome Light

Gentle Reader,

A pastor in my area was shot yesterday.

Six times.

In the church parking lot.

The church he leads.

This man has been involved in helping others in the community for years. He heads up an addiction rehabilitation program. He preaches. He reaches out to the women at the shelter where I volunteer. By all accounts he’s a godly man. Not perfect (never that) but one who genuinely wants to please the Lord.

He was rushed to the nearby hospital and taken into surgery almost immediately. Miraculously, he is expected to make a full recovery, despite a collapsed lung, a torn up pelvis and bullet fragments in his head.

Nobody knows why he was shot. The suspect is still at large.

You would think that the universal response, whatever people do or don’t believe or like about God and Christianity, would be, “That’s terrible. I hope he’s okay. I hope the assailant is swiftly brought to justice.”

Instead, some non-Christians wish he had died because of what he does with his life.

Politics has somehow been dragged into this tragedy. Some – Christian and non-Christian – are callous enough to mourn his survival because of the presidential candidate he supports.

I don’t care who this offends – that’s vile. That’s disgusting. A man has been shot. His life has drastically changed. His entire family and congregation have been effected. It’s nothing short of deplorable to be upset that he’s alive. People making these comments should feel deeply ashamed. How dare anyone use this as a soapbox for ranting about religion or politics. (Because someone is going to ask, yes, I would feel the same level of anger if this were the leader of a mosque or a Buddhist monk or a rabbi or an atheist professor or whoever).

If you are able, please consider donating to the medical fund set up by one of the members of his congregation. Christians especially. We need to come together and support one of our own. Let us lay aside any doctrinal or political differences and surround this man and his family with love and kindness.

The darkness shall not overcome the light, no matter how hard it tries.