I'm just an ordinary guy living in the beautiful state of Colorado.  Another tragic act of violent cowardice gripped one of our communities yesterday, resulting in the death of a lovely young girl.  We are now asking what we can do to protect our children and ourselves from such dangers.  I don't know that there is an answer, as long as our objective is to completely prevent such violence.  The sad but simple fact is that there are evil people, who do evil things.  But I believe there is a solution to protect us from the fear that accompanies these tragedies.  And that protection comes from the power of salvation.

I am not a theologian, and certainly not a scholar, but do firmly believe in my Christian faith.  My purpose here, though, is not to proselytize, or even to explain how to achieve Christian salvation, but to simply share the freedom that salvation provides.  As a Christian, I have gained numerous freedoms but perhaps one of the most profound is a freedom from fear.  Don't get me wrong.  I love and greatly value life - my own, and even more, those of my wife, children, and those I love.  But I do not fear death.  And I can only say that I do not fear my death, or even the death of those I love most, because I am secure in the knowledge that, while death brings the end of earthly life, it also marks the beginning of a better, eternal life for all who are secure in their faith and salvation.

So what does this freedom bring?  Well, in a sense, it makes those who are secure in their salvation effectively "bulletproof."  I believe it is this freedom from fear that enables so many of our brave soldiers to fight the battle against evil in the world.  They can enter a battle, knowing that their lives may be taken, but that their souls never will be, and never can be.  The same can be said of the first responders to any dangerous, potentially deadly event such as the situation at Platte Canyon High School.  In effect, salvation gives them freedom to be heroes.  And, the same can be said for any of our children who are secure in their salvation.  They can go to school unafraid of what dangers may await them, because those dangers do not need to translate to fear.

Taking this thought further, salvation is perhaps this nation's biggest weapon in what we call the War on Terror.  After all, terrorism by its very definition capitalizes on our fears.  But if we can innoculate ourselves from that fear, the primary tool of the enemy is taken away.  And true faith gives us that innoculation, since we know through our faith the outcome that awaits us.  So in this context, I would re-define our war on terror to be a war on evil.  I am not terrorized by evil, only angered and emboldened by it.  And I am more than willing to engage in this battle, because I can do so without fear... because I know what awaits me on the other side.

Ironically, the violence being waged by fanatics claiming to be fighting a jihad against infidels discredits their own warped "faith," and emboldens mine.  I react the same way when I see evil like that which was carried out yesterady at Platte Valley High School.  And, the longer this evil is carried out, the more I believe people will turn to the true faith found in Jesus Christ.  If the only tool these beasts of evil have is fear, it's just not strong enough to overcome true faith in Jesus Christ.  Evil will always be with us here on earth.  But it does not need to weaken or threaten us in any way.   It's already been defeated, some 2,000 years ago.