53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.
Once I stopped by my wife’s work to say hello about noon. Suddenly a lady who works in the building came rushing in hysterically sobbing and saying; “A man just shot somebody and ran away!” Several people jumped into action comforting the lady, calling 911, and checking outside the front door to make sure the gunman wasn’t coming our way.
A couple of people went out the side door to check on the victim. He was a young man and had been shot three times in his right thigh. The lady who saw it said that a man came up to him and demanded money and then pulled out a gun and shot him.
The ambulance and police got there in about ten minutes. All the chaos, alarm, and confusion shook me up. The senseless violence in our society is not just statistics or news reports or a crime drama for our viewing pleasure. The violence in our society is a terrible reality! It creates terrorism, distress, and anxiety for millions of Americans.
Later the same day, a man who was court ordered to the rehab where I used to work, came by my office and asked if he could read something to me. He opened a Bible to Isaiah and began to read out loud: “He was wounded for our transgression.” His voice started to crack and he began to cry as he continued to read: “He was bruised for iniquities.”
We looked at each other as we both felt a sense of holy awe. Then he said: “I was reading this a few minutes ago and it did something inside of me.” He hugged me and said, “I love you, Steve,” and left my office.
Cold, hard-hearted violence or compassionate, tender-hearted love — which do you choose? |
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