When Dylann Roof shot up the Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, it was evil on display. As a Christian, I think my concentration should be on good: love, God, Jesus, etc. However, at a time like this, in the wake of such a horrific act, I contemplate evil. If I believe in Jesus, then I have to believe in the antagonist…the Bad Guy or the Devil. In our advanced, Western culture, we kind of forget that the Bad Guy exists. It was Kevin Spacey’s character in the “Usual Suspects” that said, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”. His existence remains so mystical because it appears that he needs a human partner to pull off his evil deeds. The human partner, though somewhat culpable, takes the full blame and hides the true author of the evil deed. In other words, Dylann Roof pulled the trigger that killed those nine people. He should be held accountable, but we should not give the Bad Guy a free pass. It is simply impossible that nine people can be killed at a church, during a freaking Bible Study without the Bad Guy having a hand in it.
The Bad Guy is shrewd. The Bible says that he is not to be underestimated. Nevertheless, he showed his true impotence when compared with Jesus. I think the Devil simply overplayed his hand in Charleston. Don’t get me wrong, the killing of nine people is tragic beyond the power of words. However, as Roof himself said, the killings were supposed to start a race war. On the heels of the Ferguson and Baltimore, a race war, or at least a prolonged riot was very possible. And I would venture to say that Charleston is as racially divided as any city, especially since it was in North Charleston earlier this year, where a white cop was charged with murder for killing a black man. But a race war did not start. In fact, the opposite happened. We saw anger. We saw mourning. But we also saw forgiveness, mercy, honor, obedience, and perhaps the greatest display of Jesus’ true power that I have ever witnessed. Dylann Roof might have partnered with the Bad Guy to kill those people, but the people of Charleston, especially the people of the Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, partnered with Jesus. The results are undeniable. The Devil was defeated in Charleston. I also believe that further defeat will follow. Although it won’t keep him from being executed and it probably won’t make the news, Dylann Roof will eventually give his life to Christ. And I believe it will be members of the Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church who will lead him.
Charleston, however, is not the Bad Guy’s greatest defeat. He probably thought he had won when Jesus was crucified…….
I’m ending all my posts with an invitation to accept Jesus. If you would like at accept Jesus simply pray the following prayer or one like it: “Dear Lord, I’m a sinner. I acknowledge that You sent Your son, Jesus, to die for my sins. I humbly accept Your son, Jesus, and I now further acknowledge that I am forgiven of my past sins, my present sins, and my future sins.” If you prayed that simple prayer, you are saved. Now, you need to follow Jesus. Start reading your Bible. I would suggest starting with Matthew, reading all of the New Testament, then reading the Old Testament. Also, find a good church. Christianity was never meant to be done alone. You need to be in community with other believers.