Name: Linda
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Ripples
It seems appropriate that today the skies are grey, and it is gently raining. Appropriate to the way I’ve been feeling. For the first time I saw the pictures of the young people who were murdered at Virginia Tech this past week. Somehow, putting faces to the statistics makes it all so much more real and tragic. They all look so young, so bright, and so full of potential.
I am thinking about the same things I thought about in the aftermath of the Columbine shootings. When someone does something like this, they take so much more than an individual life. Like ripples in water each of those lives touched so many others. Left behind to cope with the affects of a life cut short by a senseless act are broken-hearted families and friends. Who can know how their lives will be altered because this loved one is gone?
I am angry at the selfishness of it all. To satisfy some insanely imagined wrong the lives of so many are forever changed. I understand that such a mind is no longer functioning rationally, but the consequences of one insane decision just overwhelm me.
I think that to a much lesser degree it is true of all of us. We have in our power to make decisions for good or evil, and those decisions have far reaching affects. We truly never just hurt ourselves. Our actions inevitably affect those around us. We can’t have an attitude that says, “It’s my life. I can do what I choose. I’m not hurting anyone else.” It simply isn’t possible. Our lives are interconnected in such a way that my wrong choices will inevitably have consequences for the other people in my life. It is possible for them to “ripple out” and affect people I don’t even know.
Christ has called us to die to self. In doing so, I make choices that consider others first. And in the end, those choices are beneficial to me as well. A life lived centered on self is a very narrow life. It is an amazing truth that as we give our lives away we gain so much more than we could ever give. Jesus calls us to a life of abundance. His abundance is different than that of the world, but it is so much more rewarding. He offers us eternal life, freedom from the penalty and guilt of sin, hope, joy, peace, grace and blessings beyond anything we can imagine. The choice is ours to make.
Blessings,
12 Comments:
The "ripple effect"
of this senseless tragedy is certainly accurate.
This post is a wonderful reminder that, as you say "Our lives are interconnected in such a way that my wrong choices will inevitably have consequences for the other people in my life. It is possible for them “ripple out” and affect people I don’t even know."
Very well written, as usual, my dear friend...
xo
Very well said. I think one could also add to this that the ripple effect also occurs when we make good, wise and wholesome choices!
May my life provide a ripple effect of all that is good, right and holy to those around me... some I may never even know!
Great challenge and post to ponder!!!
Wise words, Linda, and beautifully said.
You are so right about the ripple effect. It is so true, I also think about all of those innocent lives that didn't need to be taken senselessly and tragicaly like that, I think of all the people who knew each of them and their sadness. It makes no sense to me how one person can take another's life. I pray their families can find some peace.
Beautiful choice of words, Linda. Yes, for 'the world' it is hard to understand that dying to self will make a better world. Most people are raised to being self-centered and sometimes it shines through in my own life. But if I take the strength and peace of my Lord, I know that 'dying' to self is much more rewarding.
Blessings to your Sunday evening and always.
Linda, this was so thoughtfully said and is so very true. We really don't live an isolated existence and it's a constant challenge to remember that everything I do affects someone else, too.
I'm sending you something I got from my dearest friend...may it bless you!
Love in him,
Holly
You said it all very well..I think many of us are feeling so strangely because much of the world is so numb to the whole VT thing, as if it was almost just another day in America...
It is another very sad time in our country. We live in a free country way from war and yet we see this very unnecessary loss of life.
If only everyone could read your post, especially those who are being tempted by evil.
"We truly never just hurt ourselves. Our actions inevitably affect those around us."
Amen, amen. You're right. We don't sin in a vacuum. It always has effects on others.
Beautifully written Linda. Such wise words, and so true!
Post a Comment
<< Home