“Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8).

Violence upsets me. Does it upset you? I’m deeply saddened by the death of children. Perhaps this is a strange way to say it, but even though I’m shocked at the presence of real evil in our world, I’m not surprised by it. That itself is a reason to mourn.

When a tragedy happens—like children being shot at school—it makes me look in the mirror: What am I doing to make the world a better place? Perhaps you wonder the same thing.

Gary and Mary Jane Chauncy were devoted parents to their 11-year old daughter, Andrea. She was confined to a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy. They were riding a train which derailed and went into a river in Louisiana. Although they could have quickly crawled out a window as the train started to slowly sink into the water, their thoughts immediately went to their daughter who was confined to her wheelchair.

They were able to get her out of a window and into the hands of rescuers just in time. But by that point, the water was high and it was too late for them to get out. As their train car filled with water they were pulled to the bottom of the river, and they drowned.

What motivated Gary and Mary Jane Chauncy?

It was love.*

Evil can do horrific things. And it does. But love can do powerful things because the Lord is its author.

Yes—cry, mourn, pray, advocate for justice, check in on your neighbours, and hug the people you love.

And enlist yourself in the cause of the Lord’s great love. 

---

Notes:

–*Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence (New York: Bantam, 1997), 3.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.