Missed Opportunities

July 13, 2024, will no doubt be one of those days that will be etched in the memories of people around the world. It’s another day where a shot was heard around the world. This time, it wasn’t just heard, it was also seen. Donald Trump, a former US president and candidate for the 2024 presidential election was shot and nearly assassinated at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Add to this, two attendees were killed, and others were injured.  

This tragedy should have been a time that united a nation. At the very least, Christians should have been united in prayer. Instead, the intense political climate in this year’s election has heated up more intensely than the July heatwave that has enveloped the country. This horrific incident continues to reveal the hearts and sentiments of the nation. 

What a missed opportunity this tragedy has become because it does not unite Christians in prayers for a nation that is being divided, and continuing to become the seedbed of bitterness, hatred, and vitriol; even among professing Christians. In the aftermath, across many social media sites, the sentiments of “a planned hoax,” jubilant satisfaction, or disappointment that the bullet meant to claim former President Trump’s life did not, became the prevailing commentary. 

In the book of Proverbs, Solomon shares this thought: “Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble (Proverbs 24:17 NLT).” While the former president is not an enemy in any sense of the word, the admonishment nevertheless rings true. He may represent a certain political philosophical difference, but he is no enemy to the nation. 

How shameful, dishonoring, and unbrotherly-like are those callous and cold sentiments? Can we not, as Christians, find enough compassion for a man, like us, who was created in the likeness and image of his Creator? Are we so complicit, corrupted and compromised by the culture we were meant to influence?  

Jesus told his followers, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment (Matt. 12:36)." I don’t claim that my every thought or word spoken has been pure in the eyes of the Lord, but I can only imagine that the thoughts and words being spouted by so many at this time break our Lord’s heart. We should be moved with compassion, not only for the former president, as well as the other victims caught in the crossfire.  Our compassion should be inclined towards those who are grieving and in shock at such a time as this.  

I was a child when an attempt was made years ago on President Ronald Reagan, and I recall how there was at least a sense of awe and shared anger that someone would dare do such a violent act. 

As Christians, we’re called to love. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to live everyone or even everything that another does. We should, however, be walking in love. I could wax prophetic about the significance of this event. The fact that it is nine days after our nation’s birthday and celebration of independence and freedom does not go unnoticed. Nor does the fact that this occurs just two days before the Republican National Convention. However, there is no greater prophetic significance that can be focused on than that of a house divided. If the Church be divided, how could we stand in a time such as this? How are we playing into the hands of the enemy, rather than being the unshakable Kingdom represented on the earth? If the church in America cannot stand together, what hope is there for a divided nation? 

It’s not just a missed opportunity in the sense that a church is divided in sentiment, it is also a church divided in its public response. We should be offering hope amid tragedy. We should be offering answers, knowing that even in this moment, God could clearly be seen in miraculously situating the designed target to move in such a way that the bullet meant to kill, only pierced his ear. In the aftermath of this event, Former President Donald Trump released a statement which highlighted his gratitude, not only to first responders, but also God who spared his life. 

Let’s not continue to allow these opportunities to weaken and tarnish our witness. Jesus himself could have easily shared the sentiment regarding Caesar, Herod and others. He remained honorable. Even his commentary towards the religious leaders of his day was not one of vengeance. On the cross, he cried, “Forgive them!” God’s mercy never fails. Our love should not fail either. I pray that we can become a united church that does not miss the opportunities.