"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
(Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV)
Why did 26 people lose their life at the hands of a madman on Friday? The reason was not mental illness. Adam Lanza was certainly mentally ill but there are millions of mentally ill people who never kill a single person much less walk into a school and kill a classroom full of first graders. The reason had little to do with Lanza's background or upbringing for there are a multitude of kids brought up in far worse conditions who never embrace crime or murder. So why did this man walk into a school and kill 26 people?
The Sandy Hook shooter did what he did for the same reason anyone commits any sin; Adam Lanza was totally depraved. Apart from a relationship with Christ, human beings are totally depraved and capable of all kinds of sin including unthinkable evil. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, the killing fields of Cambodia and the Sandy Hook school shooting all happened because the men behind these mass murders lived out their depravity in the most evil of ways. Why would they choose to do so? The better question might be, why don't more choose to do so? Thankfully, by God's grace, few actually do to live out their depravity in such an unthinkable way.
We live in the midst of a real spiritual battle and the consequences of this war are all around us. Satan is seeking to devour people and is accomplishing this task at an alarming rate. The Bible clearly teaches (Ephesians 2) that a person who does not know Christ is a slave to sin and a follower of the "prince of the power of the air" (Satan). Satan and demonic powers are at work in and through such persons. As believers in Christ this should grieve our heart and literally bring us to our knees in prayer for both those separated from God and those whom they hurt.
There is a huge part of the population who do not believe in God much less a devil, demons or even evil; whether one believes in such or not is beside the point. Scripture is clear, we live in a world filled with demons, powers, principalities and even a Satan who find purpose in opposing God's plans for mankind. These are the ones Christians battle against through prayer, testimony and faith in Christ. The world may look for answers outside of the spiritual realm but we know better.
Join me in prayer for the families of Sandy Hook today...
James
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