My thoughts on the Charleston Incident

Charleston, S.C....nine killed – did this really happen?!!!   African Americans are killed in their place of worship while conducting Bible study?   A young white man enters the church service, and sits with them for more than an hour, before he pulls out a gun and all of the racist anger that he can muster, he shoots the worshipers of God dead.  It has been reported that he reloaded his gun at least five times while shooting his victims multiple times to ensure that they were dead!   Yes, this really did happen.  The whole nation was rocked by this cowardly act of one individual, who represents the views of many that decided he wanted to start a race war.   At the age of 21, this young man was able to generate enough hate in his soul that he could sit in the house of God with the people of God and still dig deep enough to find the darkness of death and destruction in his heart.  Again and again we awake to the reality of true hatred.  
 
Can there ever be a blessing at a time such as this?  A time when hatred is so massive that we can’t seem to remember what good looks like.   I say 'Yes'.  Even at a time like this we can find blessings.  Many of the grieving family members demonstrated this when they told the racist killer that they were able to forgive him.  The people of God, from all walks of life, sent their prayers and blessings to the families of those killed.   President Obama addressed the senseless act of violence and gave the Eulogy for the Pastor who was the first person killed.  The debate over the symbol of the confederate flag was reignited and the flag was taken down from the South Carolina State House.  The issue of race relations has again become a real conversation. 
 
Yes a tragic event occurred and the question has to be raised....'Now What'?   I have a strong suggestion; the people of God must be heard!   We must speak out against violence, ethnic intimidation, racism, sexism, classism, and all things that divide us as a people.   We can't just preach about it, we have to be intentional about it!   We must have cross-cultural programing without the fear of losing our own identity.   We have to be honest about our fears, dislikes, and false teachings about each other.   We have to be determined to live the religion that we preach.  I truly believe that that you must be proud of your culture and heritage, while appreciating the culture and heritage of others.  When hatred speaks up, love must speak up even louder!!!   There are thousands of ways to love.   We, the people of God, must find it within us to love when it seems that hate is winning!   The last word must always be love!