Shapes in the Couds. . .

The recent fatal shooting of a young man by a police office in Missouri, has polarized large segments of the population.  People are choosing sides, aligning themselves behind either the righteous act of a courageous police officer, or the tragic murder of an innocent young man by a police officer.

Each side has the same basic facts available to them, but they see totally different scenes out of those same facts.  What they see in those facts and their reaction to them, have little to do with the facts themselves, but are rather a type of ink blot test. . . given random shapes of ink on a little card, a person is able to create a scene, not from anything inherently in the black and white shapes on the paper, but from their own past experiences. . . . Lay on your back and look at the clouds. . .see soldiers, horses. . . castles. . . No soldiers, or horses, or castles are actually there, and a friend sitting right next to you will find completely different shapes in the same clouds that you look at.  The scenes in the clouds come from your own mind and not from the clouds.

If your experiences with police officers are positive, and your experiences with young black men are negative then you will likely take the police officer’s side. . . and surely the reverse is true.  If you’ve had negative experiences with police officers, and can more easily relate to young  black men, then you will take the young man’s side.

But we know only one thing for certain, that there are no totally good men. . . no not any:

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

and again. . .

Isaiah 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

There is no police officer, who has never acted from anger, revenge, selfishness, laziness stupidity,  or meanness.  Yes they surely may have regretted it later. . . No it need not happen often, but all have sinned. . .

and likewise there is no young man of any ethnic background who  has never acted from anger, revenge, selfishness, laziness stupidity,  or meanness.  Yes they surely may have regretted it later. . . No it need not happen often, but all have sinned. . .

No one can claim righteousness. . . all have fallen short.

As outsiders, we who were not there cannot know what actually occurred.  There surely will be an investigation to try and find out what happened, but questions and accusations will certainly still remain at the end of that day.

. . . again we know only one thing for certain. . . All men need the forgiveness of Christ. . . all men need to repent and turn away from sin. . . all men need the covering of the blood of Christ’s perfect sacrifice to pay for our sins.

We weep for the young man and what might have been. . .we mourn his loss, and the great pain of his family. . .

We weep for police officers and horrible split second life and death decisions they must make on a daily basis. . .

We weep for our own frailties, and shortcomings. . .

We give thanks to God for making a way where there was no way possible.

I give thanks to God for offering Himself as payment for my sins. . .

Thank you God. . .

I love you Jesus. . .

I pray for men to lift their eyes to You. . .

Dave