THE PEACE OF GOD (18 OF 20)
by Roger Thomas
Scripture: Philippians 4:4-9
This content is part of a series.
The Peace of God (18 of 20)
Series: Forever Living in A Whatever World
Roger Thomas
Philippians 4:4-9
Introduction: There are two undeniable facts of life. Fact #1: Everyone faces adversity and hardships. No one is exempt. Fact #2: Not everyone handles life's challenges the same. The difference is sometimes surprising.
We all witnessed an example several weeks ago. Charles Roberts IV, a local milk truck driver, walked into a small Amish school just outside Nickels Mine, PA. No one would have believed what he planned to do. In a vicious rampage, he gunned down ten little girls and then killed himself just as police burst in to end the siege. The crime surprised many. The fact of the crime wasn't a surprise. Sadly, we've seen too much of this sort of thing to be surprised any more. Yet where it happened caught everyone by surprise. If such an atrocity could happen in an Amish school in Lancaster County, PA, was anyone safe any place? People who knew him were surprised that Roberts, a father of three himself, could do such a thing. Police are still sorting out what happened to him.
But the real surprise would come in the days afterwards. Jaded, cynical reporters who had seen everything said they had never witnessed anything like it. The quiet Amish folk came together, stood together, cried together, prayed together, and gave God the glory together. Then spokesman after spokesman stood and thanked God. They voiced forgiveness and love for the man who had so viciously killed the little children. The Amish neighbors reached out to his grief-stricken family. Reporters at first were suspicious. "This can't be for real." Reporter after reporter said they couldn't understand what they had witnessed. They had seen "a peace which surpasses all comprehension."
We've all been surprised by such peace. We've seen it in neighbors who have suffered a great financial loss. Others might have been done in by such an experience. But not this ...
Series: Forever Living in A Whatever World
Roger Thomas
Philippians 4:4-9
Introduction: There are two undeniable facts of life. Fact #1: Everyone faces adversity and hardships. No one is exempt. Fact #2: Not everyone handles life's challenges the same. The difference is sometimes surprising.
We all witnessed an example several weeks ago. Charles Roberts IV, a local milk truck driver, walked into a small Amish school just outside Nickels Mine, PA. No one would have believed what he planned to do. In a vicious rampage, he gunned down ten little girls and then killed himself just as police burst in to end the siege. The crime surprised many. The fact of the crime wasn't a surprise. Sadly, we've seen too much of this sort of thing to be surprised any more. Yet where it happened caught everyone by surprise. If such an atrocity could happen in an Amish school in Lancaster County, PA, was anyone safe any place? People who knew him were surprised that Roberts, a father of three himself, could do such a thing. Police are still sorting out what happened to him.
But the real surprise would come in the days afterwards. Jaded, cynical reporters who had seen everything said they had never witnessed anything like it. The quiet Amish folk came together, stood together, cried together, prayed together, and gave God the glory together. Then spokesman after spokesman stood and thanked God. They voiced forgiveness and love for the man who had so viciously killed the little children. The Amish neighbors reached out to his grief-stricken family. Reporters at first were suspicious. "This can't be for real." Reporter after reporter said they couldn't understand what they had witnessed. They had seen "a peace which surpasses all comprehension."
We've all been surprised by such peace. We've seen it in neighbors who have suffered a great financial loss. Others might have been done in by such an experience. But not this ...
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