Prayers for a shooter/killer
Those recent twin shootings in Colorado rattled a friend of mine. Greg Stier, head of the Dare2Share youth ministry, sends his kid to the same campus where the first murders took place.
Around the blogosphere, I’ve seen well-deserved praise for the ex-cop (turns out disgraced former cop who has now been redeemed by the Lord) who took down the shooter before the guy blew his own head off. I’ve also seen plenty of “enjoy hell!!” comments directed at the murderer.
But on his blog, Greg had this to say just after the first incident:
“Our hearts break for the victims of the shootings at the YWAM Training Center in Arvada, Colorado. This tragedy took place less than five minutes away from Dare 2 Share Ministries International headquarters in Wheatridge, Colorado. This hits close to home to me personally because I live in Arvada where this horrific shooting took place. I ask all Christians to pray that the perpetrator of these horrible shootings is caught, brought to justice and then to Jesus. I ask that every Christian prays as well for the surviving victims and all the families that have been affected by this shocking and senseless tragedy.”
“Pray…that the perpetrator…is brought to Jesus.” Of course, we now know the ultimate outcome and know some of the background of the killer. But Greg, amid what really was a terrifying episode, was asking for grace for the shooter instead of joining in with the chorus of those damning him to hell.
Think about that for a while.
Written by Truman
Sue Says:
December 18th, 2007 at 6:26 pmVisit Sue
I think any time there is a senseless crime such as this, most people’s first reactions are anger and condemnation of the perpetrator. It’s my belief we think this way because most of us are non-violent individuals who cannot fathom anyone going out and senselessly taking anothers life.
I must admit, my first thoughts are always of the victims and their families, and while I would not express myself in telling anyone to “enjoy hell,” it would anger me that anyone felt they were entitled to cause such grief and harm.
I understand that this is a different aspect than you were addressing but it could explain the reaction of some you might have read. (I did not read any comment sections in the articles written about this shooting so I could not speak intelligently, this is just a guess.)
While I admire the words of your friend and am grateful that his child escaped this horrendous episode, I wonder how many in their initial reaction would consider bringing this person to Jesus? What a true and absolute Christian he is and after reading his site, it is no wonder his reactions are different from that many others.
Thanks for posting this..it did make me stop and think and led me to a site which I have now linked and will read daily.