Three teens, one armed with a rifle, tried to break
into a man’s home which resulted in the death of one of the home-invaders, 15
year old Davontae Brown. Since he was
nine years old, Brown had a criminal history which involved him being in and
out of Juvenile Hall, and even when incarcerated, he was no model
prisoner. His public defenders called
Brown’s death “Heartbreaking” but what is heartbreaking, is not only the fact
that his life was cut short, but that Brown chose to live a life of wickedness
instead of righteousness and the poor choices he made, costed him his life.
The man defending his home and family did not see
Brown or his accomplices as anyone’s children.
All he saw were three criminals who were threatening his life and his
family and so, he did whatever he felt was necessary to defend himself which is
why it would be a miscarriage of justice to charge him with murder because it
is never murder to defend yourself and your family.
Parents, if you want to increase the chances of
your children living long productive lives, you have to raise them up to fear,
love, and reverence the God who made them and to be upright productive citizens
from day one. That does not mean that
they will always choose what is right, but at least they will have some sense
of direction in their lives.
But before we can teach our children to walk in the
ways of our Lord, we have to be doing the same ourselves and the best legacy
that can be passed on to a child is that they are raised up to live a life of
godliness; a life that honors and pleases God.
Now, I am not saying that everyone who lives an
upright life is guaranteed to live up to a good old age. Even seemingly good people and they who know
Christ can sometimes succumb to death at an early age whether it be by
sickness, a tragic accident, the wickedness of other people, or something
untimely like a sudden stroke or heart attack because we live in a world that
is fallen, cursed and in which death presently reigns over everyone and
everything.
Death is no respecter of persons. It does not make a distinction between good
and evil, Christian or non-Christian, young or old, male or female, ethnicity,
lineage, economic status, child or adult, or any shade of skin color because
all people are born into a corrupted condition called sin and sin is that
corrupted state of human nature that causes us to fall short in some way or
another of God’s standard of moral perfection no matter how good we try to be
which is why our righteousness, even within the best of us, will never meet the
required moral standard set by our Creator because even when we try to do good,
sin is ever present with us tainting and corrupting more than we can
comprehend. We are not only measured by
our outward actions or even by what we say, but also our very thoughts and
motives which are also subject to sin and because of sin, we all die (Rom.
6:23) and it has been this way ever since the first man Adam sinned against the
Lord God when he had eaten fruit from a certain tree called the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil. (Gen. 2:16-17) It was
the only tree from which God had commanded him and his wife Eve, from whom all
of humanity is descended, to not eat from.
It was the only thing they were forbidden to do. Had they remained obedient to their Maker,
they might have lived forever and humanity would not have been subjected to
death, nor the creation to the curse that fell upon it (Rom. 8:19-22) because
of man’s disobedience towards God.
Because of Adam, sin entered into the world and
with it, death to all mankind (Rom. 5:12) because all sin and with it came a
curse upon all of creation which has resulted in all the evil and suffering
that we witness today. This present
world that we live in was never what God desired for us yet it became the punishment
that mankind brought upon themselves.
Man’s sin also broke the personal fellowship Adam
and Eve once had with the Lord who would come to visit them, and because sin
passed from them to us, we are born separated from our Maker but worse yet, if
we die in our sin, we will be separated from our Maker forever and be in
eternal darkness, but because of God’s love for us and His desire to offer
forgiveness of sins, Christ came into
the world to die upon the cross for our sins and rose from the dead so that
anyone believing on Him would be forgiven of their sins and saved from eternal
punishment and be reconciled to their Maker.
And just as our very souls have been cleansed from
sin and liberated from condemnation, so our very bodies will one day be
liberated from the bondage of death (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) and
this present world will be replaced with a new world where there is no curse,
no sin, and no death (Rev. 21-22) but where only righteousness dwells.
I would urge you today, that if you have not yet
received Christ to be your Savior and Lord, call upon Him to save you from your
sins so that you need not face the fearful judgment that is to come upon all
those who remain in their sins and so that you may become a part of the new and
better world that is to come where every tear and grief will be wiped away. Do not harden your heart to the destruction
of your own souls which is the worst decision anyone can make because with it
come unimaginable consequences that last for all eternity, but call upon the
Lord for forgiveness and salvation while you still have the chance to do so.
If you are not sure what manner of prayer to offer
up to Christ when calling upon Him, here is an example of what you might pray:
"Lord Jesus I need you.
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of His standard of Moral perfection.
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of His standard of Moral perfection.
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
Amen."
Know that God is not concerned with the words that
you use but with the attitude of your heart and if you have repented of your
sins and have called upon the name of Christ for forgiveness in the sincerity
of your heart, then you have already been forgiven of yours sins and are
assured entry into Heaven.
End notes:
1. “Armed Home Invader Killed by Homeowner in
Urbana, Public Defender Calls It ‘Heartbreaking,’” Guns Save Lives, May 5, 2020
2. Mary
Schenk, “Case takes ‘heartbreaking’ turn,” The News Gazette (NewsTalk 1400),
May 1, 2020
Scripture references:
1. Romans
6:23
2. Genesis
2:16-17
3. Romans
8:19-22
4. Romans
5:12
5. 1
Corinthians 15:51-55
6. 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18
7.
Revelation 21-22
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