The sword

You've heard the saying, 'Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.' It comes from the Gospel of Matthew:

Then Jesus said to him, 

“Put your sword back into its place. 

For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

Matthew 26:52 ESV

I'm not sure we'll ever know for certain why the shooter killed all of those innocent people in Dayton. Not that the answer would make things better. Some of us from my office went to lunch at the Trolley Stop yesterday, driving past Ned Pepper's for the first time this week. It was sobering.  A chill shot through me. Seeing it on TV was one thing, but being there, even just for a few seconds in a moving car filled me with so many simultaneous emotions. I felt anger at the killer for bringing this darkness to our city, for doing this heinous crime that will change so many lives forever. I felt sorrow and fear and grief. And I do want to know 'why' even though it can't possibly make sense to the average person. The victims and survivors didn't deserve this; no one deserves to die in this senseless manner for whatever senseless reason the killer made himself believe. It breaks my heart.

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Please join me this week in praying to stop the killing.
I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
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Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power