Dueling Didn't Work Out Well For Either The Winner Or The Loser

 


As you may or may not already know, a 16 year old girl living in the state of Missouri named Kaylee Gain, who is white, was nearly killed by a 15 year old black girl, who allegedly assaulted her, threw her to the ground, and repeatedly bashed Kaylee’s head into the sidewalk pavement which put her in coma for several weeks and while many of us were quick to assume that this was a racially motivated attack on Kaylee, and understandably so due to whites in recent years being targeted by racially motivated violence from people of color, further information related to the incident should remind us that we ought not be so quick to rush to judgment as things are not always what they at first appear to be.
 
According to the Daily Mail, the family of the alleged 15 year-old assailant, claimed that she was defending herself and that Kaylee was the assailant. [1] However, after repeatedly examining the segment of the footage showing the start of the altercation, Kaylee’s movements at the beginning of the video suggest she may very well have been the aggressor and that the alleged assailant may have been in fact defending herself as her family claims. [2]
 
Many of you out there may not agree with that interpretation and may vehemently object to my assessment and conclusion based on my own examination of the footage, but understand that when checking things out for myself, I have to examine the sources in a fair and unbiased fashion, even if that leads to conclusions that many of you out there may not agree with.  All I can tell you reader is simply watch, and carefully watch, the beginning of the video for yourself and come to your own judgment.
 
If indeed the alleged assailant had assaulted Kaylee Gain without provocation, then no doubt she should be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible under the law, but if Gain was the assailant, then the girl she assaulted, from a moral standpoint, could not be condemned nor punished for defending herself for to do so would be a miscarriage of justice and regardless of whether or not the amount of force used in defending herself we might think was excessive, she used the degree of force she felt necessary to eliminate a threat and we could not rightly fault her for it, but instead would have to acknowledge that Gain made a costly mistake on her part and we can only hope and pray that she will not continue down the path that placed her in the predicament that she is presently in and throw away her life so needlessly. 
 
A bitter truth that must be accepted is that if you are going to take on the role provoking a conflict that need not be, you do so at your own risk as the one with whom the conflict is started is going to do whatever they feel is necessary to bring it to as swift of an end as they possibly can even if it means killing or seriously injuring you. 
 
But make no mistake:  Racism and racially motivated violence, no matter who it is directed towards, be it towards people who are white, black, Native American, Asian, Middle-Eastern, Hispanic, Jew or Gentile, or any other skin-color, nationality, or ethnicity is wrong and a terrible thing that ought not be because we are all made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26) being made equal in His sight (Acts. 10:34) and subject to the same moral laws and standards that He has set forth before us (Num. 15:16) and by that same law we will all be judged and we will be made to give an account before Him for how we lived our lives, the things that we have said and done in this present life, what we have given ourselves over to and aligned ourselves with, every choice and decision that we have made, what motivated us to make the choices and decisions that we have made, and how we have treated one another and furthermore, DEI ideology which includes critical race theory and LGBT behavior affirming ideology is a very poisonous and toxic doctrine that is corrupting the minds of our students, created confusion within them about who they are, and causing needless division amongst those who might otherwise be united in loving fellowship, and turning them against the very good values and principles upon which this nation was founded and such ideology should not be tolerated within our academic society and parents need to do everything they can in their power to undo the lies that their children have been taught and to have them brought up in an education that is founded in truth and fact.
 
But at the same time, we should not be punishing someone for defending themselves against what they perceived to be a threat to them and for doing whatever they felt was necessary to eliminate that threat, nor should we be harboring anger and hatred towards them for doing so.
 
Further information from the  Western Journal on the case reported that this was not the first altercation involving Kaylee as she was reportedly suspended from school for another fight prior to the one that nearly costed her her life and the circumstances surrounding that fight remain unknown except that it involved a friend to the 15 year-old girl by whom Kaylee was nearly killed. [3] The Western Journal further reported that Kaylee had been suspended from school the day before the altercation between her and her alleged assailant had ensued. [4]
 
We have already heard what Kaylee’s parents had to say about the incident.  We have already from the family of the 15 year old alleged assailant, but whom we had hoped to hear from was Kaylee Gain herself and her account of the incident, but sadly, that is not going to happen as the severe head injury she sustained has caused her to suffer from memory loss, which severe head injuries tend to cause, and as a consequence, she is unable to recall that exact incident that almost ended her life [5] and unless her memory recovers to where she is able to recall the incident and in vivid detail, she will never be able to offer an account of the incident from her perspective and we cannot expect someone to give us an account of events of which they have no recollection.
 
Furthermore, the school district of which the High School attended by both Gains and her alleged assailant has refused to turn over documentation pertaining to the incident to the Missouri Attorney General and their refusal to do so is not doing anyone any favors. [6]
 
But it so turns out that as I was finishing up on this post that the New York Post gave further insight as to what led up to the conflict that nearly proved fatal for Kaylee Gains reporting that according to Clinton Gain, the father of Kaylee Gain, there was a bitter and hostile texting correspondence between Gain and her alleged assailant, [7] Maurnice Declue. [8, 9]
 
According to the texting correspondence between the two girls, they agreed to meet a mile away from the school from which Gain had been suspended a day before to settle their differences and if you’d like, via a duel and I don’t really know how to describe the fight between the two girls in any other way as it was not a spontaneous or random altercation.  It was planned and arranged between the both of them.
 
And for those of you out there who don’t know what a duel is, they are sometimes fatal for at least one of the persons involved: think Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, only the difference between those two men and Gain and Declue is that Burr and Hamilton dueled each other with guns, Gains and Declue with just their hands (thank God guns were not involved in the duel between Gains and Declue or else things would have been a lot worse) and Gain at least, by God’s grace, survived the duel she lost, Hamilton did not.
 
The New York Post went on to report that based upon the texts exchanged between Gain and Declue, Kaylee’s father, despite persisting to seek criminal charges against DeClue, was forced to conclude that both girls were equally at fault and that contrary to earlier claims made by DeClue’s aunt who claimed her niece to be a victim of bullying by Gain, neither were victims to anything but to their ill-fated choices to settle their differences with violence. [10]
 
In past times, duels were only conducted as a last resort to preserve one’s honor and reputation and to which the disputing rival parties would willingly agree, but the results sometimes would end in tragedy for one of the rival parties or individuals, but even duels did not necessarily help to restore the reputation of the victor.  It certainly didn’t for Aaron Burr (his already tarnished reputation never recovered and his political career destroyed for good by his killing of Alexander Hamilton) [11-16] and it certainly did not for Maurnice DeClue; both she and her opponent are suffering severe consequences for resorting to violence to settle whatever dispute they had.  One was nearly killed and may be long in recovering from her near-fatal injuries and yet may never fully recover from them at all.  The other is facing a possibility of several years in prison; what the dispute between them was about we, at the moment can only guess.
 
Both girls had to have known that in agreeing to fight each other, that there would be a risk of injury to one or both of them, but the consequences ended up being beyond what either girl anticipated.  Kaylee Gain did not anticipate herself being nearly killed and Maurnice DeClue did not anticipate that her victory in that fight would be made sour and bitter by criminal charges being pressed against her.
 
Even if Kaylee Gain was in any way at fault and brought what happened to her on herself, I still wish her a swift recovery from her injuries and whether or not Kaylee Gain knows her Creator, or if she has ever thought or wondered if there is a God by whom all things are made and before whom she will one day have to give an account for the things that she has said and done in this present life and who will take into account every inward thought, motive, and attitude of hers I do not know and if she had not taken any thought to the things of God before being faced with her mortality, then I pray that since being  faced with her own mortality, she may now have reason to think on these things now and that in doing so, she will reconsider the course of her life, seek a change for the better, and come to call upon the God who can bring about in her that much needed and necessary inward change that will deliver her out of spiritual darkness and into a spiritual rebirth and renewal, that will produce in her a clean heart, cleanse her soul from all of her sins by which she would otherwise stand eternally condemned, conform her mind to that of the Creator and to His truth and not to the lies, deceptions and falsehoods of this present world, instill in her a sense of purpose that she never had before, a sense of hope that never fails, and a desire to do that which is right and pleasing in the sight of our Creator, and to faithfully serve Him in the capacity and station to which He may call her but that is a prayer that I say not just for her, but it is a prayer that I would say for anyone who has been faced with death or is facing death at this present time; that they would begin to ask the following:
 
 
What will happen to me when I die?
 
Is this life all there is or is there more beyond this present life?
 
And if there is more beyond this present life, where will I end up?
 
In what do I place my trust for a good afterlife and will it be enough?
 
Is there a God before whom I will have to give an account for how I lived my life?
 
And if there is a God before whom I will be held accountable, by what standard does He expect that I should abide in?
 
If I find myself falling short of the divine standard required of me, what must I do to acquire redemption?
 
 
But we should not have to wait until we are faced with our own mortality to ponder these questions.  These are the first questions that should be asked at the start of life.  Children are often asked as to what they want to be when they grow up.  The teenager may set his or her sites on attending a college or university and from there, pursue a career.  And they, who are already in the workforce are setting their sites on retirement, but most never take any thought for what happens after death.
 
That is not to say that no one is aware that they are going to die someday, but that day, especially to those who are young, seems to be a far-off day but death is no discriminator of age, gender, ethnicity, skin-color, nationality, occupation, religion, philosophical or political faction, economic or social status.  It can come to anyone at any given time at any given stage in life whether it come in the form of a cause of nature, a tragic accident, the wickedness of others, as a consequence of foolish choice, or even by one’s own hand due to an overwhelming grief and despair. 
 
It nearly came for Kaylee Gain due to her foolish choices but though she herself was spared an untimely demise, death nonetheless comes for the young as it does for the old and its sting does not only affect those whom it takes, but the sting of death is also felt by those who remain and held dear they whom death took away.
 
The atheists and evolutionists will tell you that as painful death is, that it is simply a part of the natural cycle of life, and yet the grief and pain that it causes and the fear that it invokes tells us that it is a thing that ought not be and the first questions of life ought to be what happens after death.  Is this life all that there is, or is there something more? If this life is all that there is, then whatever it is we do in this life is of no eternal consequence.  The consequences of the choices that we make, the way we live our lives, how we treat one another, and whom and what we give ourselves over to are only confined to this present life.  But if death is not the end of our existence, then begs the question of whether or not what we say, do, and give ourselves over to affects the nature of our eternity and if there is a life after death, then it must be reasonably concluded that the same force governing eternity and whatever lies beyond death also governs this present universe and is just as much the Creator thereof as He is of the places of eternity and of the realms beyond this present life.
 
There are two forces at work in this present world and which are diametrically opposed to one another.  One force is the producer of goodness, life, light, happiness, joy, contentment, comfort, and peace.  And there is another force at work that brings darkness, evil, misery, grief, sorrow, despair, heartache, discontentment, decay, destruction, and ultimately death.  And what does death, in and of itself bring?  Decay, destruction, grief, sorrow, discontentment, and misery.
 
Death brings decay to what was once beautiful.
Death robs us of that which brought joy and happiness.
Death can bring despair.
Death causes heartache.
Death disrupts our peace and contentment.
Death brings misery to our souls and crushes the spirit.
Death brings all manner of pain.
 
And for all the talk by the atheists, agnostics, and evolutionists who count death to be a product of nature, when it affects us, be it directly or even indirectly, whether we are faced with it ourselves or someone we hold dear is faced with it or taken away from us by death, then we do not look at death as something natural, especially when death ends a life much sooner than it ought to be ended.  We see it as a thing that should never be and though we know we cannot escape it, we may attempt to delay death with the pursuit of medical advancements, right living, healthy diets, and abstaining from those things and from habits that are unhealthy, but eventually, we succumb to it despite every inclination within us to avoid death for as long as it is in our power to do so and yet at other times, when overcome with grief, despair, when the pain within even our own bodies becomes too great, and the darkness of this present world becomes too overwhelming, and when living seems more terrible than dying, and when we are assured that there must somehow be a better world than the one in which we are born and in which we are made free from all want, grief, sorrow, suffering, misery, and evil that we experience in this life, we then welcome it as an escape and deliverance and some even seek it out by their own hand.
 
And to whom death does not come directly, others are lured to it through the increase of anguish, heartache pain, misery, suffering, grief, sorrow, despair, and hopelessness, are made to long for it, and even put their own selves to death and thus with each life extinguished, and especially before the days of that life should be fulfilled, the anguish, consequences, and the destruction from the loss and ending of that life reverberate and are felt like a ripple affect in a pond when an object such as a rock is thrown into it.
 
But life is a builder and sustainer.
Life was meant to be filled with joy, peace, happiness, harmony, and contentment between God, man, and nature, but death is a disrupter and destroyer of all of that if we must be so honest and if we must ever be honest, death, in and of itself, is never a good thing.  It never has been and it never will be but is counted as an enemy (Rev. 20:14) and an enemy that cannot be defeated by any earthly means though it be delayed and eluded for a time.
 
It has been a subject debated among many religious and philosophers with some saying that it was never a thing meant to be but rather a consequence brought about by a fateful act at the beginning of history and then there be those who regard it as a natural part of living and yet all on ever side and angle of the matter and for differing reasons, keep it at bay for as long as they can, and yet even they who are driven to prematurely end their lives and long for death do not necessarily wish to die.  They only wish to escape the very things that are driving them to end their own lives because they do not wish to live in what they foresee to be a perpetual state of misery and as far as they are concerned, if a perpetual state of misery outweighs any happiness or joy that they could ever have, but ending their own lives is not the initial vision that even they had, and if there would be but another way of escape from the anguishes causing them to despair of life, they would certainly choose that way of escape and deliverance over death but in the overwhelming anguish, they choose death because no other means of deliverance or escape is presented to them and yet the very means of escape they seek, they are the victims of and the more we understand this, the more we begin to understand why death is called an enemy to us all and to all life even when at our lowest point, it may appear to be a friend and a deliverer and if such an enemy, then why is death in the world? Why are there forces at work seeking to disrupt, withhold, and rob us of the happiness and the joys we might otherwise have? And what kind of a world and a life is it that we were initially meant for? Were we truly meant to experience suffering? Or was it intended for us to only experience peace, happiness, and goodness?
 
If death and suffering are just as much a product of nature as life and peace, then we have no choice but to accept just as much the inevitability of death not only to ourselves but also to any and all we hold dear as we do the joys that life brings and hope that when we experience loss and suffering that the anguishes thereof will somehow be abated, if not eliminated altogether by a restitution which is anything but guaranteed especially if the world as it presently is has been so at the beginning of its existence whether we like it or not and if that is the case, then we cannot expect to be free of the endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth with entire lifeforms becoming extinct and new ones arising in their place, stars burning out and new ones being formed in their stead, and entire planets, galaxies, and even the universe itself dying out to be succeeded by new planets, new galaxies, and even a new universe. 
 
It is very interesting that conventional scientists predict that our universe will eventually undergo a heat death as this was already foretold by scripture wherein it is written that heaven and earth will pass away with a fervent heat (2 Pet. 3:7, 10, 12) but it must be noted that what conventional scientists are calling a heat death is not so much a death by fire but a death that is the result of a complete loss of heat and available useable energy [17]  but I don’t understand how you can call this a heat death if everything doesn’t burn up because the way evolutionary astronomers describe the process makes the term seem like a misnomer, yet one source admits that the heat death involves entropy, being the second law of thermodynamics, reaching its maximum height:
 
 
 
The idea of heat death actually originates from the second law of thermodynamics – that’s that idea that entropy increases in an isolated system (this system being the universe). Entropy, which is the number of ways in which a system can be arranged should never decrease, evolving to a state of maximum disorder (or thermodynamic equilibrium). When this happens, all energy will be evenly distributed throughout the cosmos, leaving no room for any reusable energy or heat to burst into existence. Processes that consume energy, which includes our very living on Earth, would cease. [18]
 
 
 
But if entropy causes a breakdown and decrease in useable energy and with that a disorder, how can it possibly arrange any system?  But what entropy is, is exactly what death and decay are.  And for those of you who may be wondering as to what this has to do with Kaylee Gains and what happened to her, I must say that it has as much to do with her as it does anyone else because though she, by the mercy and graciousness of God towards her and her family, narrowly escaped succumbing to the second law of thermodynamics, she, like the rest of us, will not be able to escape it forever because eventually, entropy, being death and decay, will eventually catch up to her and overtake her be it today, a day from now, or 90 years from now just as it will eventually catch up to and overtake the rest of us and when it does, her body will decay and disintegrate into dust just as our bodies will and what scripture and evolutionary scientists do agree on is the entire universe will eventually undergo death but while the evolutionists cannot tell us whether or not a new universe will arise in the place of the old, the holy scripture tells us that indeed that there will be a new universe in place of the old (2 Pet. 3:13) and this time, death will not exist therein and neither will there be anything in it which brings death for all that gives death its power will be done away with (Rev. 21-22) and there is indeed a force by which death is given power and which not only gives death its power, but also every kind of grief, anguish, evil, sorrow, agony, pain, suffering, misery, hardship, and adversity known to man. 
 
Now to be clear readers, it was never my intent in this post to go into a detailed in-depth examination of the laws of thermodynamic and what they mean for us but rather to express the most important questions that being faced with our own mortality should give us reason to think on and that is question of what happens to us when we die, whether what comes after death is what we initially think it might be or not what we think it might be, if there is a God to whom we owe our existence and before whom we will have to give an account, and whether what we do in this life affects what happens to us after death, and why there is even death in the first place.
 
Just as life itself has a cause and must have a cause, then so does death, but the question is which came first? Life or death? Or did both somehow arise simultaneously?  One thing is for certain and I am sure that anyone could agree to, irrespective of their philosophical, political, or spiritual leanings is that without life there could be no death because death cannot create life.  It can only end life and the only means by which life and death arose is by that which is a producer of both and now the question is whether not the force responsible for producing both did so simultaneously or if it produced life before producing death.  If life and death somehow came about simultaneously, then it can only be concluded that death was intended to be a part of some process of nature and necessary for the maintaining of some sort of balance.  It can argued that without death, that population levels of every form of life would reach a very perpetually torturous and agonizing unsustainable heights and so it can be said that death serves some purpose in that regards, but yet at the same time we resent its existence because of its indiscriminate nature as it comes not just for the evil and those whom we believe to be worthy of death, but also for those who we perceive to be good and undeserving of an end to their existence in this present life.
 
There be those of such an odious, hard-hearted, selfish, and evil nature of whom we could not see out of this world any sooner and feel the better for it, but then there be those of such a gentle, kind, loving, generous, good nature who are taken from us too sin and in such cases, there seems to be such an injustice and unfairness to it and not only is it unfair that they should depart this life when the world seems a better place with them in it, but when taken from us, we fear that their good and beneficial works will die with them as well and so even if death were intended to be part of the cycle of life from the beginning, why then must it be permitted to be so indiscriminate?  If it were not so indiscriminate, then we might see death, not as an enemy, but necessary for maintaining a balance in the cycle of life but its indiscriminate nature makes it not a benefit but a curse and it is a curse that only seems to be growing with each passing generation as the earth becomes less and less full of life which can lead one to speculate as to whether or not the other planets unsuitable for life might have once been suitable for life at one point in their history but eventually succumbed to a death along with any and all life that might have once dwelled on them, but if that were to be the case then from where did this death originate, how did it come about, and how did it spread?
If it was ever a mechanism designed for the purpose of maintaining a cyclic balance in the circle of life as some allege, then how did it go out of balance so as to become a destroyer of worlds?
And what can be done to mitigate its impact and to keep it in check so as to not destroy all of life?
We know that death comes about by forces of nature such as old age or sickness.
Death can be brought about by tragic accidents, cataclysmic events, and even by the beasts of the earth.  We attempt to mitigate and delay death by medical advancements, the pursuit of healthy living, and safety precautions in a world filled with dangers, poisons, and sickness, but if we are truly honest with ourselves and if we would honestly take the time to examine ourselves, we find that it is not the forces of nature by which death comes about the most often, but it is mankind by whose hand death works its will the most whether directly or indirectly and whether man serves as an instrument of death intentionally or unintentionally.
 
It is by the hand of mankind that death comes to himself and other forms of life the most and it is mankind who disrupts the intended balance of life the most beginning with himself.  So, what is there about mankind that death is able to easily work its will, not just against him, but against all of life, and not only that but through him as well?
 
In mankind, there is a dual-nature at work within him and which is divided against itself and in that duality is the propensity to be both a destroyer of life but also a producer and sustainer of it as well and we see men doing both; being builders and sustainers, but also destroyers and far too often it seems that men choose the ways of death and destruction more than they do the ways of life and because they either do not know the ways of life or they enjoy too much the pleasures that end in death for if we knew the ways of life then we would do well to strengthen within us that nature by which life is produced and sustained and to weaken as much as possible that nature that causes us to produce death and destruction for the more that which causes death and destruction is weakened, the more life flourishes, the more years we add to our own lives and to that of our fellowman, and not only that, the more strength we add to them as well and if we would be rid of that condition within us by which death comes, only then could we attain immortality and live forever and not only we ourselves, but also everything around us, but no matter what we try to do, we will never be able to fully rid ourselves of that death-producing condition because we are all born into it and it has been so ever since the existence of the first man Adam and the first woman Eve.
 
When God created the heavens and the earth, death was non-existent at first, but there was only life, happiness, joy, peace, and tranquility in that newly created world over which mankind was given dominion (Gen. 1:26) and there existed a perfect unity and harmony between God, man, and nature.
 
There was nothing withheld from man except one thing and that was the fruit of a tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, having been warned by God that in the day that they ate thereof, they would surely die (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3) but sadly, they did not heed the warning and instead ate of that forbidden fruit at the behest of a wicked, lying, and deceiving spirit which had, in the form of a serpent, crept into that then pure, innocent, and wonderful world that God had made.
 
But before this spirit had ruined the world that God had made, he had once served at throne of God as a covering cherub until he was lifted up in his pride and thought to take for himself that which belonged to God alone which resulted in him and they who sided with him being cast out of the positions that they had once held before God. (Is. 14:11-21, Ezek. 28:12-19)
 
From that day forth, that evil spirit known as Lucifer, and now called Satan or the Devil, set out to destroy that which God had made using both overt and subtle means, but he began the slow and destructive death of the world that God had made through an act of subtlety when he falsely assured Eve, the first woman and wife of Adam, the first man, that if she ate of that forbidden fruit that neither she nor Adam would die, but that they would be enhanced in wisdom and even made divine (Gen. 3:4-5) but when they had eaten of that forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened to nothing other than an embarrassing nakedness that they had tried to cover, (Gen. 3:7) and instead of being made divine, they were reduced to a state inferior to that in which they had been made and instead of being spared the sentence of death, the sentence of death was pronounced upon them as God had warned them (Gen. 3:19) for when they had eaten of that forbidden fruit, their inward being became corrupted and contrary to that which God had created them to be and from that corrupted condition came death and the corrupted condition by which death came is what the Bible calls sin; sin being defined not by our actions or even the words we speak, but by the corrupted state of our inward being of which the words of our mouth and the things we do are but an end result because sin not only influences our speech, behavior, and actions, but it perverts our thoughts, corrupts our motives, hardens our hearts, darkens our inward attitude, and defiles our very soul and spirit and so it is by sin that the sentence of death came upon Adam and Eve and but the sentence of death was not confined to them, but spread to the rest of mankind as well for because mankind is descended from that original couple, mankind also inherited from them the very sin that caused their deaths and from that day forth has brought about the death of all who are born into this world (Rom. 5:12) because we are all born into sin and as a consequence we all die (Rom. 6:23) and because we are all born sinful, death comes just as easily for the infant as for the adult and for the young as it does for the old whether we think it should or not.
 
But the sentence of death has not been confined to just mankind as its affects have spread throughout all of creation twisting, perverting, distorting, corrupting, and eventually destroying all that it touches which is why it is written that the entire creation groans and travails in pain until now. (Rom. 8:19-22)
 
Worse even still, the transgression of Adam gave Satan, who had caused him and his wife to eat of that forbidden fruit, justification to claim lordship over the people, tribes, kindreds, nations, kingdoms, and empires of the world (Mt. 4:8-9, Lk. 4:6-7) which is why he is called the prince of this world (Jn. 12:31, 16:11) who oversees and manages the slow death of creation, thus making him the one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy (Jn. 10:10) and to lead multitudes into an eternity of torment and separation from their Maker and it is the estrangement from our Maker because of sin that is the worst consequence of all.
 
For by sin, do we not only die, but we are also made estranged from our Creator with whom we would otherwise be in perfect unity and have an uninterrupted fellowship because the incorruptible Creator cannot allow that which is corrupt to enter into His Kingdom lest Heaven should be defiled by the taint of sin just as the earth itself would be defiled.
 
And when sin reaches a certain measure, judgment must come upon it lest it, through death should destroy all of life including all of humanity and when that judgment comes, it will require the elimination of all who are in sin and though a day is coming when this must be done, the Lord God Almighty is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9) and He is not willing that mankind should forever be subjugated to death, but that all might be made to live eternally (Jn. 3:16) having provided redemption and the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ our Lord who came into this world to dwell among us and as one of us yet without sin (2 Cor. 5:21, Heb. 4:15) and in being without sin, was able to serve as that perfect and unblemished sacrifice (Heb. 7:26-27) needed to take away the sins of the world and in offering Himself up to be put death upon the cross on which He was crucified and on which His blood was shed, He satisfied that demanded penalty and granted mercy and redemption in His sacrifice and after having offered Himself up to be put to death on our behalf, He was raised again from the dead so that we by faith may be justified in Him (Rom. 4:25) if we will, in sincere faith and repentance, call upon His name for the forgiveness of sins so that we may be saved from what would be an everlasting damnation. (Rom. 10:13)
 
And it is the forgiveness of sins that reconciles us to our Creator (2 Cor. 5:18) and along with it, a spiritual transformation (2 Cor. 5:17) that causes us to no longer desire to follow after selfish and worldly pursuits but after those things that pertain to the Kingdom of Heaven, (Mt. 6:33)
to no longer take pleasure in those things that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that which is good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
to no longer desire to walk in the lies of this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ Almighty, (Jn. 14:6) no longer placing our hopes in the things of this present world, but looking forward to that new and better world to come, (Rev. 21-22)
to no longer rely on worldly resources, men, or even our own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our needs and provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, (Mt. 6:25-33) recognizing that the resources of this world and even the people He brings into our lives are but instruments and vessels through which God meets our needs and that the skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which we might acquire our provision are provided and instilled in us by God,
to no longer fear what men can do to us, but rather fearing the God before whom we will have to one day give an account for how we lived our lives, (Mt. 10:28)
to no longer look to corruptible institutions within our society for direction and order in our lives but to God who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
to no longer seek our own glory but the glory of God,
to no longer rally behind corruptible men, but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that those men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
to no longer seek to align ourselves with the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
to no longer trust in the wisdom of the world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above, nor depend on corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice, but only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
 
By a lie was man led into the bondage of sin and death, but it is the truth of the Gospel message of Salvation that sets us free (Jn. 8:32) for it is in Christ Jesus that we find this truth that brings that very freedom by which all others come forth for it is a freedom that begins not from without but from within for in Christ Jesus are we delivered from eternal damnation and spiritually liberated from the sin by which we would otherwise be condemned and just as our souls are cleansed and transformed by the cleansing blood of Christ that He offered up on our behalf, so one day, we will be made free of bodily death as well when our bodies which were born into sin are changed from that which is corruptible and in which sin dwells into that which is incorruptible and in which dwells no sin (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) for in which dwells no sin, dwells no death and finally, creation itself will be liberated from the curse by which it is afflicted when Satan, who currently claims lordship over the nations and peoples of the earth, is cast out and faces his final sentence and defeat (Rev. 20:10-15) and when afterward the creation itself is made anew for when it is made anew, it will be a place in which there will be no sin, no death or decay, no evil, nor any curse, nor any grief, suffering, misery, sorrow, pain, hardship, or adversity, but only peace, contentment, joy, happiness, and harmony before the Lord God Almighty. (Rev. 21-22)
 
The time to ponder what happens after death and to think on the things of eternity is now and not when you are faced with your mortality as Kaylee Gain was for though she was fortunate enough to survive her brush with death, you, reader, might not be as fortunate and if you have not taken time to consider your eternal fate, what must be done to escape judgment, whether or not what you are placing your trust in is enough to deliver you from an eternity of unrelenting and everlasting torment, then I urge you reader to take some time to examine yourself before your Maker and to think on these things regardless of what stage in life you are in and the time to do so is now, not when you are faced with death for when that day comes, death could come to you so suddenly and so swiftly that you may not even have time to think on those things and at that moment, it may be too late for you and you may find yourself forever in eternal darkness, separated from your Creator, experiencing nothing more than an anguish of the magnitude and like never experienced in this present life which is why now is the time for repentance and why now is the time of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2) and not when death comes.
 
You may be young, old, or even middle-aged, but you are no more guaranteed the next day or even the next moment than they who are in the twilight years of life for death can come to us in any given form and if not in the form of old age, then in the form of an unanticipated incurable illness, a terrible accident, an act of nature, or even by the hand of evil.
 
But in Christ Jesus, there is a sure way by which you can be guaranteed deliverance from what would otherwise be an unimaginable eternity of torment if you will be willing, in all sincerity to call upon His name for the forgiveness of sins.  It is but a sincere prayer of repentance away:
 
 
 
“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 your 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 to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
 
 
 
End notes:
 
 
 
1.  Emma St. James, “Missouri teen charged with bashing Kaylee Gain's head into pavement is the 'real victim', an honor roll student who was 'defending herself' in the brawl, family says,” Daily Mail, March 21, 2024
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13220395/Family-Missouri-teen-charged-Kaylee-Gain-victim.html
 
2.  The National Desk, “Juvenile or adult? Missouri teen's brutal assault sparks debate over how to charge suspect,” Youtube, date of posting unknown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyYzvFtNXs4
 
3.  Jack Davis, “Missouri Teen Who Suffered Skull Fracture in Brutal Fight Was in Massive Trouble Prior to Scuffle,” Western Journal, March 26, 2024
https://www.westernjournal.com/missouri-teen-suffered-skull-fracture-brutal-fight-massive-trouble-prior-scuffle/?utm_source=push&utm_medium=westernjournalism&utm_content=2024-03-27&utm_campaign=onesignal
 
4.  Ibid.
 
5.  George C. Upper III; The Western Journal, “Missouri Teen Kaylee Gain Awakens from Coma After Brutal Beatdown from Classmate, Only to Face Another Big Problem,” The Gateway Pundit, March 30, 2024
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/03/missouri-teen-kaylee-gain-awakens-coma-brutal-beatdown/
 
6.  Jack Davis, “Kaylee Gain's School Refuses to Turn Over Records After State AG Says He Wants Alleged Attacker Charged as an Adult,” Western Journal, April 7, 2024
https://www.westernjournal.com/kaylee-gains-school-refuses-turn-records-state-ag-says-wants-alleged-attacker-charged-adult/?ff_source=push&ff_medium=westernjournalism&ff_campaign=onesignal&ff_content=2024-04-07
 
7.  Selim Algar, “Kaylee Gain’s father reveals details of text war which led to near-fatal fight, updates her recovery: ‘Some days better than others,’” New York Post, April 10, 2024
https://nypost.com/2024/04/10/us-news/kaylee-gains-father-details-what-led-to-near-fatal-fight/
 
8.  Upper III; The Western Journal, The Gateway Pundit
 
9.  Algar, New York Post
 
10.  Ibid.
 
11.  “Aaron Burr (1801-1805),” Miller Center
https://millercenter.org/president/jefferson/essays/burr-1801-vicepresident
 
12.  “Aaron Burr,” American Battle Field Trust
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/aaron-burr
 
13.  “Aaron Burr, fugitive and traitor, 1804,” The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/aaron-burr-fugitive-and-traitor-1804
 
14.  Sara Belcher, “The Duel Between Burr and Hamilton Ended Burr's Career,” Distractify, July 8, 2020
https://www.distractify.com/p/did-aaron-burr-regret-shooting-hamilton
 
15.  “Alexander Hamilton — Aaron Burr Dueling Grounds,” Revolutionary War New Jersey
https://www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com/new_jersey_revolutionary_war_sites/towns/weehawken_nj_revolutionary_war_sites.htm
 
16.  “Today in History - July 11; A Tragic Duel,” Library Of Congress
https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/july-11
 
17.  Gemma Lavender, “What is Heat Death?” Space Answers, October 11, 2018
https://www.spaceanswers.com/deep-space/what-is-heat-death/
 
18.  Ibid
 
 
 
Scripture references:
 
 
 
1.  Genesis 1:26
 
2.  Acts 10:34
 
3.  Numbers 15:16
 
4.  Revelation 20:14
 
5.  2 Peter 3:7, 10, 12
 
6.  2 Peter 3:13
 
7.  Revelation 21-22
 
8.  Genesis 2:16-17, 3:3
 
9.  Isaiah 14:11-21
 
10.  Ezekiel 28:12-19
 
11.  Genesis 3:4-5
 
12.  Genesis 3:7
 
13.  Genesis 3:19
 
14.  Romans 5:12
 
15.  Romans 6:23
 
16.  Romans 8:19-22
 
17.  Matthew 4:8-9
 
18.  Luke 4:6-7
 
19.  John 12:31, 16:11
 
20.  John 10:10
 
21.  2 Peter 3:9
 
22.  John 3:16
 
23.  2 Corinthians 5:21
 
24.  Hebrews 4:15
 
25.  Romans 4:25
 
26.  Romans 10:13
 
27.  2 Corinthians 5:18
 
28.  2 Corinthians 5:17
 
29.  Matthew 6:33
 
30.  John 14:6
 
31.  Matthew 6:25-33
 
32.  Matthew 10:28
 
33.  John 8:32
 
34.  1 Corinthians 15:51-55
 
35.  1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
 
36.  2 Corinthians 6:2