We'll Never Forget

This is a picture of the crosses that were erected in memory of the 13 people who lost their lives in the Columbine shooting.  Just over 12 years ago our Nation was rocked by the events that transpired in Littleton, Colorado.  April 19th, 1999 will be a day no one will not soon forget!  So many questions...the hardest to answer is Why? 

I have read several books on Columbine because I wanted to know exactly what drove these two young men (Alex Harris and Dylan Kliebold) to commit mass murder on their school campus.  I came to this conclusion:  it wasn't just one thing.  There were a lot of negative influences polluting the heart and mind of these two young men:  heavy metal rock music, violent video games, bullying...etc.  The devastating results this had on the boys is clearly depicted in the diary pages they left for us to read.  A common thread in both of their diaries was: death and violence.  The boys spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about death and violence, so much so it gradually affected their attitude, beliefs, and actions. The battle was fought in the recesses of their minds and I believe the Enemy used all these negative influences as a stronghold over them!!  They were completely overun by darkness and this infiltrated and corrupted every area of their life.  The lessons learned for me and our junior high ministry are threefold:

1.  Be careful little eyes what you see.  The eyes are a window into the soul...make sure you are getting plenty of light!  Psalm 119:105 and Psalm 119:130.. the unfolding of your words gives light.

2.  What do you spend time thinking about?  Do you have any strongholds in you life?  As a man thinks in his heart, so he is Prov 23:7

3.  Love your neighbor as yourself!  Love does no wrong to a neighbor (Rom 13:10). Bullying is a powerplay to be accepted into a group or because of low-self esteem an attempt to make one feel better about himself...Love breaks down both!! The transformational love and words of Jesus are enough to melt the hardest heart. 

Lastly, let us reach out in love to the least, lost, and lonely in Jesus name.  We will be known as disciples of Jesus by our love for others!!