Ah, the good ol’ Tsarnaev brothers, from the Boston Marathon bombing…perhaps not many events have taken place that helped demonstrate how love wins better than the despicable events brought about by these two cowards. These two are just one small example, but after the FBI did some homework on both of these characters, their hate for America was evident, and the hate they intended to carry out against Boston did cost human lives and tragic loss of life and limb. Yet in the end, love wins. Bombs were left in the most crowded places, with metal shrapnel built in to spread out and inflict as much harm as possible. And the cowardice misguided Tsarnaev boys thought they would bring the city of Boston to its knees.
And yet when the horrific incident occurred, instead of people just taking care of themselves, first responders and bystanders went towards the smoke, towards the carnage, and helped people who had somehow survived. The love of life defeated hate in an instant. And although there was a manhunt for the evil brothers later, the country reached out to Boston. Families clung to each other, and the city so full of tough Bostonians, bounced back and still hosted the iconic race, with resolve and a happy spirit..and victims of the race bombings overcoming and participating in the race. And the phrase Boston Strong caught fire, and that verbiage was used in similar tragic events in other communities.
But Boston and the act of hatred committed there is just one example. Thousands of other examples have occurred that nobody will know about, every time ISIS executes someone for being a Christian. ISIS terrorists can hold a blade to someone’s neck, and yell in Arabic about their prophet all they want, but all that hate and absurd behavior cannot change the love and faith in the heart of that believer. So even if that person loses their life to the radicals, their love for God still overcame the hate and evil acted out against them. Love beats hate, and love beats evil, and love beats suffering every. Single. Time. People who suffer at the time may not even be able to see that for quite some time, but love triumphs over the bad things of this world because that is exactly how God meant for things to be. That is why Jesus will have the ultimate victory in the end, because God is Love.
The Townville, SC school shooting, brought about such a strong example of love in the community, because of the loss of a child. The verbiage went from Boston Strong, to Townville Strong, to Jacob Strong, for the love of that little boy. And the amazing news that came out of that triumph over evil was how much that little boy Jacob loved God. If one paid attention during those difficult days in the upstate South Carolina area, the love demonstrated in this area was infectious. As a police officer at the largest local hospital in the area, I even observed different behavior from the public in general in events surrounding that tragic incident. Love won again.
People can demonstrate hate by rioting in the streets, and that solves nothing. Meanwhile, a young black man can try to hug disgruntled citizens and police officers, and the love can overcome these rough places. Now I’m not saying some protective, or even offensive action doesn’t have to be taken against evil. But what if – just what if – we start focusing on love more often than just when violent tragedies brought about by hate occur. If those of us who are believers do this more often, instead of wanting to be so right (trust me, I am guilty of this one), don’t you think someone may be more willing to listen and open their ears and hearts to the possibility that there is a Lord and Savior who gave everything for them? This is something I intend to improve upon in my own life.
The divided politics of this nation can’t be an excuse for us; if we love people, let’s let the overwhelming power to treat people with love and respect defeat our urge to prove points and argue; once again, this is advice for myself as well as anyone else out there who sees how no matter how evil things seem, love still wins in the end.
Since we believers know God wins in the end, shouldn’t we at least wear the colors of the winning team if that’s the team we want to be on? God is love; may we all try a little harder to put on the right jersey, and maybe the battle between good and evil will look that much more one-sided. My two cents.