You may remember April 20, 1999 as the day two students went into Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado with semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and bombs. They killed twelve fellow students, one teacher, and wounded twenty-one others. It’s a hard day to forget for many, but for me, it had personal impact because it was my first year as a teacher. Our school, as well as most in the nation, created a strategy in case it ever happened to us. Never before had I considered the need to lockdown a school.
Years later when Chris and I got married, friends from our church gave us a book as a wedding gift. It’s called Extreme Devotion: The Voice of the Martyrs. It’s a daily devotional written about martyrs from ancient times all the way up to one who lost her life on April 20, 1999. Rachel Scott was one of those students killed in the Columbine massacre.
The authors of this devotional used an entry from her journal to attest to her faith: I lost all my friends at school. Now that I’ve begun to ‘walk my talk,’ they make fun of me. These entries showed her disappointment that the very people to whom she wanted to show Christ’s love turned away from her. I am not going to apologize for speaking the name of Jesus. I will take it. If my friends have to become my enemies for me to be with my best friend, Jesus, then that’s fine with me. I always knew being a Christian means having enemies, but I never thought that my ‘friends’ were going to be those enemies.
On the day the two students opened fire in the school, one gunman asked her if she still believed in God. She looked him in the eye and said, yes, she still believed. He asked her why but didn’t let her answer before killing her (Day 4). Rachel Scott was a martyr. Another entry in her journal said, I am not going to hide the light that God has put into me. If I have to sacrifice everything, I will. And she did.
Since reading that devotional years ago, I have often thought of Rachel. How many of us could say unequivocally that we would have been as brave? Not I. There are times I wonder if I will be able to stand fast if the end comes and professing my faith means a death sentence.
In Acts 7:54-60, the disciple Stephen is faced with this decision: When the council members heard Stephen’s speech, they were angry and furious. But Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked toward heaven, where he saw our glorious God and Jesus standing at his right side. Then Stephen said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!” As Stephen was being stoned to death, he called out, “Lord Jesus, please welcome me!” He knelt down and shouted, “Lord, don’t blame them for what they have done.” Then he died.
I am encouraged by the author Luke reporting that Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit—and looking to heaven saw God and Jesus standing at His right side. Because I know that I’m not capable of being that brave in my own power. I would have to rely on the supernatural strength I can receive only through the Holy Spirit.
I’ve been studying Ephesians over the last few weeks. There is so much in these six chapters, it could take me a full year to unpack it all. There are twelves blessings listed throughout the first chapter, but the one I want to focus on for this post is in verse 13-14: And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory.
We are chosen, called, redeemed, and sealed. I want to immerse myself in the scriptures so I can grasp the reality of these promises. How easy it is for us to forget what a huge God we serve, and that His lavish love will not allow us to fail. That brings me comfort. But more than that, it inspires me to live in victory today.
My husband Chris recently gave a sermon at our church on this very subject. He used a devotional from Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies, to make his point. It’s from June 30th. We may remember salvation past—when we surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ and were filled by the Holy Spirit. And we look forward to our salvation future—living eternally with our Lord and Savior. But what about salvation present? Do we live in victory in the here and now? Because God has a plan and purpose for us today.
Rachel Scott died twenty-two years ago, and the violence in our world has only gotten increasingly worse. While I’m writing this blog (on September 27th) Chris is serving as a chaplain with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. A few days ago, several people were killed by a gunman in a Kroger’s grocery store only a few hours from where we live. It seems unreal that such violence could infiltrate our safe little cocoon—but it can and does. Every week at church, we have a group of armed congregants policing the perimeter in case someone with evil intent wanders in. This is the world in which we now reside.
The only way I can keep from falling into despair is by being in the Word every day, praying constantly, and believing God’s promises—we are not of this world. We answer to a power with much more authority than any president or king. And isn’t it a comfort to know that He holds you in the palm of His righteous hand? If you need a reminder of all the heavenly blessings He’s bestowed upon us, I encourage you to wade into the book of Ephesians and linger there for a bit. I pray it will encourage you as it has me.
