10/05/2026
Our community has been shaken this week by two deputy-involved shootings, one just down the road from our church. Some of our congregation knew the man who died there.
Already, people are choosing sides. Murder. Justified. Guilty. Innocent.
Scripture tells us to be "quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger" (James 1:19), and warns that answering a matter before hearing it is folly (Proverbs 18:13). The investigation is on going. We cant know anything yet.
But God already knows what we do not. He saw what no camera or witness could, and the source of perfect Justice will do what is just.
Long before that night, this man needed help. His record and what appears to have been other significant struggles do not make his life worth less. Whatever we learn about those final seconds, we should also ask what happened in the years before them.
That should grieve us.
A family has lost someone they loved, and nothing an investigation finds will take that pain away. A deputy has taken a life, and whatever the investigation finds, he will carry that for the rest of his life. So will both families.
Scripture tells us to weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15), and promises that the Lord is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). There are brokenhearted people on both sides of this, and some of them sit in our pews.
So let us pray more than we speculate. Pray for his family. Pray for the deputy and his family. Pray for the truth to come out and for justice to be done. Pray for our law enforcement. Pray for those caught in addiction, before their names become tomorrow's headline.
And pray that God would make us a people who do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8), and a community that notices broken people while there is still time to reach them.
Lord, have mercy on us all.