Virginia Tech Massacre

Well, it has been almost two weeks since the Va. Tech Massacre. I have been thinking a lot about the shooter, the victims, and the Sovereignty of God. I have read some articles and watched some interviews. Also, I have been reading about God's Sovereignty over all things. If you throw all this into a blender along with the words of Christ, you get a pretty good idea about why things happen, including this horrible incident. In light of such an event, I think that is the question most people ask. "Why did this happen? What caused this young man to murder so many people?" The answer is found in the words of Christ. He explains this so explicitly that a person would have to work hard to misunderstand it. The answer is found in Mark 7:20-23:

"And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.""

Christ states specifically that the source of evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds is the heart. When a person has an evil heart, evil results. All thoughts, words, and deeds are evil, reflecting the heart. There is no mention of choice or free will in Christ's words. Undoubtedly, the person who commits such evil actions is choosing to do it. But we must realize that the choosing or willingness to sin in such evil ways comes between the evil heart (which is the beginning or source of the problem) and the evil thought, word, or deed (which is the end or result of the problem).

In other words, we do not first choose sin, then get an evil heart, and then perform evil thoughts, words, and deeds. We have the evil heart first which effects our choices. The significance of this evil, corrupt, God-hating heart is that it identifies our loves. The evil heart loves evil and is a slave to it. The evil heart knows nothing of pleasing God because all of its loves are consumed with pleasing itself. We can see that the evil heart is selfish and the antithesis of love. It is the enemy of God!

So why did the Va. Tech Massacre happen? Simply put, the murderer had an evil heart and his evil heart spewed forth some heinous thoughts. Those thoughts gave birth to the horrific event we will always remember. It was not society's fault. It was not the school's fault. It was not the fault of the student body. They did not pull the trigger. We cannot even place the blame on the guns he used. The shooter is the one to blame. His actions were simply an overflow of his evil heart.

God holds us responsible for our hearts. God holds this young man responsible for his own heart. Recompense will be justly paid because God is the judge and always judges righteously. Though we mourn all who are effected, and though we pray for the Hokie nation, we rest assured of the Sovereignty of God, knowing that He prevented this from being as bad as it could have been as well as rightly repaying the evil that has been achieved.

Praise be to His Holy Name, for He alone could provide such comfort in light of such tragedy!