I don’t want to talk about the Connecticut killings.  Like everyone else in the world, I am horrified and completely saddened.

Facebook and Twitter are filled with people’s emotional responses.  Everyone wants to say something.  I like to think expressing our feelings is therapeutic somehow.  Unfortunately, there are too many who choose to adopt the Rahm Amanuel philosophy of “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste“.  These people begin their political rants and turn this tragedy into yet another opportunity for division and fighting.  I don’t care which side of gun control you are on.  I don’t want to talk about that.

What I do want to talk about is the human capacity for good.  Every single day, we see the capacity for evil in this world.  It’s easy to spot.  Watch the news, listen to politicians speak about anything, observe the crime in your city and so on.  This is my natural perspective of people.  I have always believed that given the choice, human’s will usually do the wrong thing or the selfish thing.

But it is in times like this when we see some people choosing another way.  So many broken-hearted people choose to come together and run to the aid of those who have been so unbelievably harmed.  Take a look around right now.  Forget the debates and political posturing.  Look for the good things that complete strangers are doing to help these families.  I’m not going to link to any of them here because I want you to look for them.  There is a massive outpouring of care from all kinds of people from all kinds of faiths, from different states, from different political parties, from different races and from different income levels.  Pull up Google and search for yourself.

If there is one thing that this past election showed us, it is that our nation is deeply and perhaps hopelessly divided.  But those who have sworn allegiance to the Kingdom of God can take comfort that our Savior is not an American.  He is not found in the political debates that rage on and divide us.  One guess who is found there…

No, Jesus is found in the heart of one who loves.  He is the source of that love.  We as a nation need to focus on our own hearts individually.  We…  no, I need to learn to use love as a first instinct and understand that laws and political debates do not change the hearts of people.  But love does…  Jesus does.

There can be no amount of charity that will replace these beautiful children that have been taken from their families.  Yet there can be no healing without love.  This love is going to come from everywhere.  I want it to come from me.  Don’t you?