Sunday, June 28, 2020

A Bad Decision Which Resulted In Tragic Consequences






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.

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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