By now news reports are flowing in nationally and even internationally about the latest round of murders to strike the nation. This afternoon at Westroads Shopping Mall, a 19 year old (I won't mention his name b/c he wanted the glory of news coverage) apparently went up to the 3rd floor of a Von Maur department store and began shooting at victims. He hit 14, and killed 8 before turning the gun on himself. The critically wounded are still in surgery or their status is not yet reported on.

In a time when many Americans are concerned with the possibility of terrorism during the Christmas season, suicide attacks, suitcase nuclear bombs, plane hijackings, bombings and the like, we're reminded of how fragile life is. It can all be over at a moments notice.

For me, this day started out by hearing some bad news that a friend of the family lost a newborn baby, only 25 days old, after numerous complications since his birth. It's hard to see the justification in watching the innocent suffer, but we hope beyond all hope that it is for a higher purpose that we're put on the earth. Still, even the most ardent religiously faithful will struggle with these types of tragedies.
By this afternoon, I was alerted of the news that a gunman had murdered several people here in a mall that my family and I frequent. It's a nice mall, in a good area, in what is known for being a family-friendly region of the nation. It was soon clear that a troubled young man acted alone. He resided about 2 miles from my own home here in Bellevue, Nebraska, which is a very good community by all accounts. Although not a native of Nebraska, I've come to appreciate what this state, and this region in general, has to offer. As we hear the stories of the victims who were out getting Christmas outfits, doing some lunchtime gift shopping, or just getting out a little before the snowstorm was to hit, we can't help but feel connected in some way to each of their stories. "I was thinking about going that very mall," or "I was just there a week ago, it could have been then," we'll say. As we hear more and more about the innocent victims, the following will begin to sink in: we are only here for a limited time, a time that seems to accelerate with age, and it is important to make the best of it.

Some may question why God would allow such things to happen. I know I do. Sometimes the answers we get from religious people are genuine, while at other times words seem like an empty vessel meant to defend someone's own beliefs. After much consideration, I've come to the following conclusions:

1) God is real.

2) He gave us free will, and he doesn't interfere with that, ever.

Bad things happen for a reason, but we may never, in our earthly lifetimes, figure out what each reason is. However, I don't think that God has left us here on earth to perish by our own sinful tendencies. He influences those of us who are willing to listen to do good things, just as we are influenced to do bad things. When someone is about to go on a shooting rampage, he doesn't simply zap the person with a bolt of lightning. He doesn't pluck an abandoned baby out of a dumpster and place him gently into the homes of caring parents. He won't just make a disease disappear from a loved one. As much as we'd like direct protection sometimes, He doesn't make us mindless drones to follow His will.

It's apparent to me that He uses inspiration to motivate us to action. The brave police officer who is willing to go into the line of fire to help victims, the foster parents who care for the abandoned child, and the doctor who is motivated beyond normal human capacity to develop a cure are all the result of bad things that happen.

Hopefully people will begin to realize that we should always hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Whether or not it would have mattered in this case, I'd like to think that Nebraskans are open to the idea of having concealed to carry permits more readily available for law abiding citizens. We, here on earth, are the ones who must do what is necessary to protect our civilization, and taking ownership of our own communities is one way to do that. Asking the police to prevent crime is foolish at best and more accurately called negligent.

A caller to the local talk radio show KFAB 1110 AM stated that he was saddened by the events of today, but he also doesn't live in fear because he does, in fact, carry a legally concealed weapon with him when shopping or going around town. The radio host, Tom Becka, rather than say anything constructive chose to call the man paranoid. Tom, in a snottingly arrogant manner, inquired as to whether or not the caller had ever had to actually use his weapon as if failing to have used the weapon in self-defense is proof of the caller's paranoia. What type of lunacy does one suffer from to make such an idiotic statement on today of all days? Is Tom's contention that these types of things don't happen? Or if they do, that we should just let them happen all around us?

It is left up to us to do our part to ensure the continued existence of a civilized society. Arming ourselves against all threats isn't a bad option. With a wide open border, the constant threat of terrorism looming over, and crazy nutjobs coming from even the best communities in America, there's no way to guess when bad things are going to happen. All we can do is react accordingly to the situation at hand.

If you're reading this, God wants you to be an agent of change for good in your own way. I don't know if it means that you will take the suicidal tendencies that you might overhear seriously and report it to avert a serious tragedy, or whether you'll find some other way to make the world a little better. We are God's tools to build a better society here on earth while we live in anticipation of what is next.

The key to knowing how to engage in this calling to make things better is to trust your little voice, gut, instinct, conscience, or whatever you want to call it. Sometimes people get the idea that you shouldn't listen to that voice, or do what is right. We rationalize why we can't get something done that needs to be done, or why we prioritize material items over personal connections. Those who are influenced by a more dastardly force are masters are twisting logic and rhetoric, but it only sounds like a good argument if you want it to.

Trust God to lead you in the right direction. That doesn't mean trust everyone who claims to be an agent or follower of the Lord, but trust the Lord.