Once again we stand appalled by the actions of a deranged individual who chose to load a firearm and do his best to unload it on a crowd of people. In a manifesto, he stated his ambition to attack the Trump administration. It is also clear in other statements that he hates Christians and desires to eliminate them.

What drives a person to such blatant hatred? We could make all sorts of politically based arguments (which we won’t do here), but the sad bottom line is that far too many emotionally driven individuals allow hatred to churn until they have worked themselves into a frantic desire to kill those with whom they adamantly disagree. Unfortunately, Christian principles and beliefs trigger those individuals.

But we shouldn’t be surprised. Notice what Jesus says in John 15:18-19:

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 

As believers in Jesus Christ, we are not of this world. God chose us out of this world of darkness and into His kingdom of light. (1 Peter 2:9) In John 17, Jesus prayed to His Father not to take us out of this world, but to keep us from the evil one:

¹⁴ I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

In a world filled with evil, where do we find hope? In Jesus Christ and the Word of God! Our faith must be firmly rooted in Jesus, and our sanctification must be rooted in the truth of God’s Word.

If you are reading this and you know Jesus, you have nothing to fear! Jesus is a refuge and stronghold, a place of safety and assurance. (2 Samuel 22:3) Rest in Him.

If you are reading this and you do not know Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, you have every reason to fear. You have no assurance against evil, and the Bible teaches that eternal hell is the destiny for those separated from Jesus Christ. The good news is that Jesus offers His free gift of salvation to you right now. You can’t earn it and you don’t need to “clean yourself up” before accepting it. You may simply put your faith in the finished work of His death on the cross (to save us from sin) and His resurrection from the dead (to give us new life). Find out more and make the most important decision of your life.