September 16, 2024
Melissa Valerio
“The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9 HCSB
A horrible thing happened 2 weeks ago in Joppatowne, MD (article HERE). The greatest fear of every parent of a school-aged child. A mother sent her son to school in the morning, believing he’d return safely in the afternoon. But he didn’t. How did it get to this point? How did a child get to the point of wanting to kill another child? I know exactly how it happened. He fed the beast.
We need little convincing that evil lurks in each of us. Under the skin, beneath the facade, deep within our hearts, evil lies. It’s with us from birth, as Psalm 51:5 tells us “Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.” We’re fooling ourselves if we don’t think any of us can do the same thing. We may not have acted it out, but we’re just as guilty in our hearts. Jesus tells us that anyone who hates his brother is a murderer already. What happened with this situation? This boy fed his sin. Probably with thoughts of vengeance, hatred, jealousy, envy, you name it. He fed the evil and it began to grow until it bore death (James 1:15). We are evil at our core. This tragedy reminds us that we cannot and will not do anything good unless Jesus is living in us. His Spirit must be flowing through us to make good choices and to act in love.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are but a step away from right and wrong. You must live through us if we are going to live holy lives. Please, Lord, guard our hearts and minds from the enemy. Satan wants nothing more than to act out his evil plans through us. Keep us bound to You and please don’t let us fall. In Your precious name, Amen.
Action: Pray for all the families involved. Pray for the victim’s family to find strength in God, family, friends, and their community. Pray for the assailant’s family who will most certainly undergo scrutiny and possibly even threats as a result. Pray for the assailant, who needs Jesus more than anything right now. Pray God would open his eyes to see his sin and to turn to Him.
image: freepik.com