did I pass by an Adam Lanza?

 

Last night I had a crazy difficult time going to sleep.  My mind could not stop racing thinking about Sandy Hook.  I heard someone say it's one of those things you can only really think about in small chunks of time and moments, otherwise after too long it can just overcome you.  I agree.  I was thinking about it so much I made myself sick with nausea.  You may have experienced the same feeling.  When you really stop and think about what a fallen world we live in, it's crazy scary.  Scary and sad.  And heart wrenching.

The world needs God.

A day like the day of the Sandy Hook tragedy should drive every Christian not only to their knees in fervent prayer, but to make absolutely certain that every person in our lives knows the love of Jesus through our words and actions.

I can't help but wonder if I ever passed by an Adam Lanza without taking time to show him love.

There might have been an Adam Lanza in my high school graduating class, but I was too self-absorbed to notice.  There might have been an Adam Lanza at one of my old jobs, but I was too burnt out and unfulfilled to give him any of my energy.  There might have been an Adam Lanza sitting next to me at the doctor last week, but I was too worried about other things to wonder if he knew Jesus.

There might be an Adam Lanza in one of the classes I teach or even in my church.

Last night with my face to my living room floor I cried and prayed, begging for forgiveness for my lack of urgency to share the love of Christ with others.  Forgiveness for my selfish consumption of worrying about things other than the salvation of souls.  Forgiveness for my pure, ugly laziness in moments where I could have spoken up and shared Jesus with someone.  Someone like Adam Lanza.

I pray if anything this tragedy will shake you to your core like it has me.

That you will not pass by the Adam Lanzas of the world without showing them radical love.

That your first thought of each day is not, 'what am I going to wear?' but 'who do I need to pray for today?' and 'who should I invite next to have dinner at my house so that I can pour love into their lives?'

I also pray that you don't give up.

Because we know that God wins.