When Will the Madness Stop...

About 1:30 this morning, my wife and I were awakened by the horrible sobbing of our daughter (15) who was crying uncontrollably. She told me she had just found out that one of her best friends had been killed. The young man was only 15 years old and was sitting on his front porch in Hillsdale, Missouri and was struck by a bullet from an unknown individual(s) running near the home. This is the 4th young person that has had their life cut short within the past 45 days that my daughter has known. Approximately two months or so ago yet another one of her friends was murdered (8th Grader) on a St. Louis street while helping his Grandfather with his BBQ Vending Business.

I clutched our daughter tight and listened to her sobbing and struggled for words of comfort, since I really cannot understand what must be going through her mind at 15 years old. I remember the first friend of mine when I was 16 who passed was Hyman King, in 1981, who was only months shy of his High School Graduation. Hyman was killed in a single car accident when he hit a telephone pole. This was the first funeral I attended for someone that I knew and never had to go through that again until many years later in my life, so what do you tell a child, an innocent child whose close friend, was killed? Yet another young and innocent life cut down for no reason at all.

I asked her what was going through her mind and she stated the obvious... WHY? Why did this happen, why is this happening again, why does God let this happen to good people when the bad people seem to literally get away with murder and doing wrong? I asked her if she was upset with God, and she stated yes. I said, “It’s okay to get upset with God. I get upset with Him sometimes myself, BUT, I come to my senses and get down on my knees, ask God for His Help, Mercy, and to fill me with His Grace, so that I might accept His Will in my life."

So many people, young and old the like, ask, "Why does God allow Evil?" It seems the proverbial question to many people. In my humble opinion, the only answer, the answer I gave my daughter is... LOVE. God Loves us so much that He permits Evil in this world.

In the Beginning, the Book of Genesis tells us, God created the world and all that is within it, and "It was good", said the Lord. God chose to create a creature that He would give free will, to love Him back, and thus God created, "in His Image and likeness, let us create" man, God created Him. When God created Adam and Eve, He gave us 'Free Will' to love Him or not. To serve Him or turn our backs. After the fall of man to Orignonal Sin, the Bible tells us "God so loved the World (all the world - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly) that "He gave His Only Begotten Son", as a Sacrifice for all mankind. God loved the human He created so very much that He gave us His Son, to suffer and die as an Eternal Offering for our sins... the sins of ALL... Good People, Bad People and the Ugliness that is sin, within all of us. The answer - God's Love for us - is why Evil is permitted in this world, because He gives ALL mankind 'Free Will' to love Him or turn away from Him... BUT, being that He IS God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Omni-present, Omniscient, ONLY GOD can make Good come from ANY EVIL... because He IS... that He IS!

Brothers and Sisters, I ask YOU...when will this madness stop? When will the killing of innocent women, men and children stop in our communities? When are WE... as a People of God, Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Non/Inter Denominational, Christian, Muslim, Jewish... when are we, who were born with the Goodness of the Creator within our hearts, WHEN are we going to stand up and say ENOUGH is ENOUGH... IT MUST STOP!!!

I don't have the answer(s) to the question posed. Last year, I participated in a "Call to Oneness March" in St. Louis where over 20,000 Black Men marched the streets of St. Louis in a Call to Oneness... to stop the violence and innocent slaughtering of human life, but yet almost a year later it grows worse. The only thing that comes to mind is PRAY. We must continue to Pray, but we MUST ACT... somehow, someway, we MUST act. I don't have the answers or the resources to do much, but I have taken the FIRST STEP that we must ALL take and that is to hug our children tight. Hold them close and tell them we love them. The second thing we must do is Pray. Pray for God's continued protection over them and His infinite Wisdom to give us the Courage and the answers to somehow... STOP THE MADNESS.

May God continue to bless you and keep you in His Loving Arms; May the Sacred Heart of His Son, Jesus Christ draw you near; May the PEACE of His Holy Spirit, be with us all... amen, Amen and AMEN!

R.I.P. - Jesse - Willie - Mike and all those who have lost their lives.

Richard Lane - Co-Founder, Qorban Ministries

www.CatholicEvangelist.net

So many say that Money is not everything, or money is the root to all evil, but in this case, my prayer is that I would have the money to be able to continue to do what I do, and that is Preach the Good News of Christ to ALL People of God. The money to be able to continue to survive and take care of my family and at the same time, be able to speak to Schools all over the Country, encouraging them to STOP THE MADNESS, and encouraging LOVE of one another. I pray for the money to be able to give kids HOPE in life, because they are loosing hope fast, with the madness that is going on in life today. The money to be able to continue the Ministry of being able to speak to and preach to millions of people across this great Nation of ours, who are Hoping against Hope, to just HOLD ON, and have Faith...that God WILL provide for us. God WILL make a Way out of NO WAY for us... if only "Seek ye' FIRST the Kingdom of God..." This is my prayer, in the Mighty Name of Jesus... Amen. If you wish to help answer this prayer, click here and God bless you!