Last Friday morning, America was shocked to learn of the
shooting disaster that occurred during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises at a theater in
Aurora, Colorado. Based on initial reports, 12 moviegoers were killed and as
much as 59 others were wounded. The shooting suspect for this massacre was
later identified as James Holmes, 24.
I thought about the immeasurable grief and the unfathomable depths of the wounds that I am sure this awful tragedy has left behind. I don’t care how many reports we have heard about what happened; only those who experienced this mindless mass murder know what it was really like. I can imagine this sick-minded masked man, fueled with demonic-like rage, barging in, gassing the place, and heartlessly killing and wounding his many victims. But my imagination can’t come close to the reality of the carnage.
The question is, how do victims recover from such a traumatic experience? Please understand that the victims are not limited to those who were murdered and those who were wounded, but also all the survivors of that fateful night, and bereaved families and loved ones. For many of them, their healing will require more than simply time.
But there is hope for the victims of the Dark Knight Rises shooting. Consider these words that Jesus said concerning himself during His public ministry: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor: he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted….” (Luke 4:18).
Two key words exist in this verse that I want to zero in on. The first word is anointed. It means that Jesus received a divinely imparted ability to do what He was sent to do. It was because God had so equipped Him that He could heal the brokenhearted, which is the second word. It means to be broken or crushed on the inside. That’s the state of many of the survivors of The Dark Knight Rises massacre.
The good news is that same God can heal the brokenhearted of our day.
During my more than 30 years of preaching the gospel and ministering to people who have been crushed by life and who thought they would never really live again, I have seen my share of those whom God has perfectly healed deep on the inside and made whole. Events such as the massacre in Aurora, Colorado, should remind us of why it is important that we proclaim to this hurting world that God can and will heal the brokenhearted.
Copyright ©2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
I thought about the immeasurable grief and the unfathomable depths of the wounds that I am sure this awful tragedy has left behind. I don’t care how many reports we have heard about what happened; only those who experienced this mindless mass murder know what it was really like. I can imagine this sick-minded masked man, fueled with demonic-like rage, barging in, gassing the place, and heartlessly killing and wounding his many victims. But my imagination can’t come close to the reality of the carnage.
The question is, how do victims recover from such a traumatic experience? Please understand that the victims are not limited to those who were murdered and those who were wounded, but also all the survivors of that fateful night, and bereaved families and loved ones. For many of them, their healing will require more than simply time.
But there is hope for the victims of the Dark Knight Rises shooting. Consider these words that Jesus said concerning himself during His public ministry: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor: he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted….” (Luke 4:18).
Two key words exist in this verse that I want to zero in on. The first word is anointed. It means that Jesus received a divinely imparted ability to do what He was sent to do. It was because God had so equipped Him that He could heal the brokenhearted, which is the second word. It means to be broken or crushed on the inside. That’s the state of many of the survivors of The Dark Knight Rises massacre.
The good news is that same God can heal the brokenhearted of our day.
During my more than 30 years of preaching the gospel and ministering to people who have been crushed by life and who thought they would never really live again, I have seen my share of those whom God has perfectly healed deep on the inside and made whole. Events such as the massacre in Aurora, Colorado, should remind us of why it is important that we proclaim to this hurting world that God can and will heal the brokenhearted.
Copyright ©2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
2 comments:
This is shocking... How did he even manage to shoot SO MANY time? It must have taken time, how come no one stopped him?
I am really sorry for the people who had to survive the terrible loss!..
This is insanely terrible. As for the time it took, according to officials, the gunman's main weapon used was an AR-15 assault weapon which can fire 50 to 60 rounds in a minute.
Rebounding from this traumatic experience will be a difficult road for many of the victims. My prayers are with them, that God will grant healing and restoration like I know He can.
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