In Christ Alone

I sat in a meeting at my son’s school last night. A small private Christian school, not drastically different than the Christian school where three children and three adults were brutally murdered yesterday in Nashville. It’s a school I love. A family of parents and teachers . . . of pastors and students . . . a school where lives are changed and leaders are made. And as I reflected on all it means to me, my heart broke, once again, for the community of Covenant School, for the families, the teachers, the children whose lives are forever altered by what took place yesterday.

I pick up my daughter every day from a neighborhood elementary school. A school much like the one right down the road in Uvalde, TX where almost a year ago, 21 lives were stolen and cut short, and countless others shattered. And much like the school in Uvalde, our school full of amazing teachers and staff that I value greatly . . . of so many precious kiddos I’ve grown to love . . . and I cannot even fathom wanting to bring them harm.

These acts of pure evil are incomprehensible. Like so many, I cannot begin to understand how a heart could be so dark or a mind so twisted that a person could do something so horrific. It’s in these moments that I have to resist. I have to resist the compulsion to circle the wagons and try to protect my children from every possible evil they can or will ever encounter. No matter how hard I try, I cannot do that. I have to resist the urge to forget that I am not in control, and while I do believe that God gives us wisdom and common sense, and we need to take steps to protect our children in the most practical sense, I also have to remember that we both live in a fallen and broken world and despite all of our best human efforts, sin exists and horrific things happen. BUT I also have to remember that we serve a very real, living God. I have to resist the temptation to believe the darkness is taking over. I have to recall and remember the words from book of John chapter 1 verse 5:

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

My job is not to shield my children from the darkness, but to teach them to shine through it. No matter how dark things may seem on this earth, we serve a risen Savior who is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. This life and this are earth only temporary. In the midst of the darkness, we are called to be light. In the midst of distress and confusion, we are called to point others towards the answer, Jesus Christ. When I say “Jesus is the answer”, it’s not a canned Christian response, some flippant answer. I truly and sincerely believe that Jesus is the only answer to all the brokenness, hurting, and evil in this world. He is the solution to the problem both in the present and for eternity.

I will continue to pray. I will continue to be the light. I will continue to turn back to Jesus, to put my faith and trust in Him, time and again. Tonight, as we, both as a nation and as individuals, mourn with the families and friends of those needlessly and tragically lost in Nashville . . . as we continue to stand and grieve with those who have lost loved ones in so many other tragedies, I’ll leave you with the words from one of my favorite songs.

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My comforter, my all in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground, His body lay
Light of the world, by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave, He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

Songwriters Keith Getty (music), Stuart Townend (lyrics) COPYRIGHT © 2002 WORDS AND MUSIC BY KEITH GETTY & STUART TOWNEND COPYRIGHT © 2002 THANKYOU MUSIC(PRS) ADM WORLDWIDE AT CAPITOLCMGPUBLISHING.COM