In the wake of a horrible tragedy, I have been overcome with grief for the city of Orlando and all of the families affected by the shooting. It is incredibly sickening that someone would murder 49 innocent people. It doesn’t make sense, and it breaks my heart. Possibly more sickening than this is the way that some people have reacted to the shooting.
If you’re confused about this statement, just think about it for a second. People have been reluctant to talk about it because these people were killed in a gay nightclub. People were more upset about the death of a gorilla than the deaths of these 49 people. Not everyone, but some people. This article is for those people.
Proverbs 22:2 says, “The rich and the poor have a common bond; the Lord is the maker of them all.” The verse only names the rich and the poor, but I don’t really think that was the point. The verse doesn’t say, “The Lord is the maker of some of these people.” It doesn’t say, “The Lord is the maker only of the people who He is happy with all of the time.” One more time. “The Lord is the maker of THEM ALL.” My incredibly loving God made me. He made the Christians and the Muslims and the Buddhists and the atheists. He made the deacons and the drug dealers. He made the Republicans and the Democrats. He made the poor and the wealthy. He made Omar Mateen. He made every single person shot and killed inside that gay nightclub. He made every terrorist and He made every person in the LGBT+ community.
And if you’ve chosen to forget, be reminded: He loves you just as much as He loves the LGBT+ community and the radical Islamics.
When God made us, He didn’t take buckets of magical potions and throw them together and say, “Here, this will do.” When God chose to make us, He took His time. He pieced us together and made us exactly who we are, and He didn’t make any mistakes. We were given the ability to make decisions for ourselves, and that’s why we are all imperfect people. We were given the ability to make decisions for ourselves, and that’s why twisted people shoot up nightclubs.
This article is not about whether or not you think being gay is wrong. It’s about the people who aren’t mimicking the compassion of Jesus Christ. One of my favorite bible verses says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” I think this verse is about compassion and love for every single person that we come in contact with. I think God smiles when we do things so small as hold the door open for other people. I think God smiles when we reach our hands out to Orlando or the families of the victims. God hears our prayers when we pray for our country, and when we pray for those attacking our country. God sees our hearts, and I want Him to see a heart that is full of love and aches when other people ache, regardless of their sexuality.
I am not saying that we have to share articles about the tragedy on Facebook, or that we have to send cards in the mail to these families to be deemed compassionate and caring Christians. I am saying that we have to pray for Orlando and the people involved in this tragedy. I am saying that our hearts should be in the right place.
My mom said it best. “They were all somebody’s baby.”
