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Dawn follows the darkest hour
If the familiar saying that the darkest hour precedes the dawn has even a glimmer of practical application, a dawning must surely be on the horizon to uplift once again a community reeling with sorrow. There cannot be a darker hour for many than the midnight killing of at least 12 people and the injuring of 50 more in a Colorado movie theater. That tragedy, added to the recent shooting of innocent victims, including children in Chicago, triggers the tearful question, how can we comfort the sorrowing hearts?
Perhaps the most powerful and poignant example of dawn following a horrific dark hour was the crucifixion of Christ Jesus centuries ago. It can be comforting to realize that God had not left His loved son alone in that dark hour. God’s dear love and protecting power were with Jesus every moment. And in spite of the material sense evidence, God’s presence and power remain constantly with all those touched in any way by the tragic event in Colorado.
That violent attempt to make Jesus a victim served only to hasten the advent of healing Christianity, the dawn of a new day for all mankind. It changed the world. Jesus’ patient expression of the spiritual love, the agape, that had already healed the sick, fed the multitudes, and stilled a storm, also enabled him to forgive those who had put him on the cross. In that one selfless act of forgiveness, he proved that the violence of hatred and fear was forever godless, self-destructive, without spiritual authority, and could not prevent the progressive activity of great good that he had initiated throughout his ministry.
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