Sunday, April 22, 2007

Impact of Christian Life



The shootings in Virginia Tech early in the week, 33 student dead, really made me stop and think. I stopped and start to listen what does God want to speak to me through this horrible event.

The first thing come to my mind is: how can some one do something like that. The gun man was Asian that really grabbed attention, I am Asian, and I went to school here in the US, I started to wonder, how can some one like me do something so terrible. To me it seems like his heart is full of hatred and rage, that completely overwhelmed any bit of humanity in him. How can someone's heart be so full of hatred and anger, it has must been eaten up slowly by something or event until there is nothing good left at all.

As I dig more, I found few words from his letter to NBC that give me chill down my spine.

"You pick out the Weak and the Defenseless and turbo-(expletive deleted) us for your own pleasure and put on faces of devout Christians in front of your parents and strangers," it read. "You drink your vodka, share needles and go on your escapades on Saturday night and go to church on Sunday morning." He added: "You have to search high and low for the Weak and the Defenseless to taunt and terrorize on Monday."

His family are Christians go to church regularly and I am sure he has meet plenty of Christians. What did he see of the Christians, hypocrite, that is what he seems to say. In fact what he seems to say is that he saw no difference between Christians and the people of the world, not only so, but he seems to say that Christians were worse then the people of the world, they were the ones seems to hurt him the most. But mostly importantly is this how it should be?

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
-Matthew 5:15-16

Is the Cho's words, the word of praise for God because our good lives? No, in fact it is the hypocrisy of the Christians he saw over the years that eaten him up from the inside. So what does bible say about the hypocrites?

23"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
-Matthew 23:23-27

Oh, I only wish that if those Christian Cho meet were truly living for God, not only with their mouth but with action and deeds, radiating with Christ love, maybe, just maybe this week at Virginia Tech it could have been another week in April before the finals. How we live our life not only have external impact on our life, but also others as well.

The fact of this week is that, 33 people is dead, and there are extra people screaming and burning in hell for the rest of the eternity as we speak.

14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

"But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
-James 2:14-19