Mourning in Nice

Another three officers gunned down this morning, this time in Baton Rouge, LA. So much hatred. Sorrow … grief … horror. The Bastille Day attack in Nice, when a truck driver drove into a crowd, killed 84 and left 303 injured. Among those were three generations of a family taking an evening walk, a French father who protected his pregnant wife, two of four sisters, and ten children and teenagers.

Turkey’s recent coup killed 265 individuals, with over a thousand more injured. Days before that, five police officers were shot and killed in Dallas; and a few weeks before, 49 persons were killed by an ISIS supporter in Orlando. Each of those killed or injured leaves behind someone to whom they matter–a parent, lover, child, friend, employer. The individual impact is deep and will carry long-term repercussions in the lives of those affected. Seen in context of multiple deaths and injuries, it is colossal. My heart goes out to the families of those who have been killed and hurt.  The senseless terror must pulverize the mind.

All this in the midst of an election year that is full of contention, seemingly more so than usual. How do we respond?

Franklin Graham has asked Christians to pray between 12 and 1 o’clock Eastern time Monday, just before the opening of the Republican convention; and again the following Monday before the Democratic convention. I Timothy 2:1-2 tells us “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.“

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice prayed at a service at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church this weekend. Part of her prayer:

“As a nation and as a people, we need to race again toward you, into the embrace of your loving arms,” she continued. “Dear Heavenly Father, we pray for guidance, we pray for wisdom for our leaders, and we pray that each and every one of us will leave this place justified by faith and secure and confident in your deep, deep love for us.”

I plan to join Franklin Graham in prayer for our country, both ongoing and before the RNC begins in Cleveland tomorrow, and I hope you will too.

Isaiah 51:11: Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.