Robbing the Amish? Really?

The headline of today's Lancaster newspaper's front page reads: "Police search for buggy bandit." The story went on to detail the holdup at gunpoint of three Amish who were heading home. He demanded their money. They threw their wallets to him and as he stooped down to pick them up ... they turned the horse into the adjacent field and off they went (pretty quick thinking on their part). The thug who robbed them, apparently satisfied with his take, climbed back in his van and took off. 

This incident brought to my mind a couple of thing, the first being the expression, "stealing candy from a baby." Surely if this guy knew anything about the Amish ... he would have known that they are a very peaceful people who believe in nonresistance. In other words, they were an easy mark. In addition, this whole incident reminded me that no one is exempt from being victimized by others. Not the Amish ... not you and not me. We live in a broken and twisted world ... populated with broken and twisted people (which, by the way, includes you and me!). This is not God's doing. It's ours. All the evil, the brokenness, the pain and heartache is all the result of our rebellion against the God who made us. And the only solution to this dilemma is found in the greatest act of evil ever perpetuated by man: the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Really? How so? I have heard it said that evil committed suicide on the day of Christ's murder. For when evil men fueled by the evil powers of the unseen world nailed Christ to the cross, they were nailing their own death sentence on that cross (Colossians 2:13-15). But what was a death sentence for evil brought for humanity the hope of forgiveness and new life (Ephesians 1:7; 2 Corinthians 5:17). This promise becomes a reality for us when we by faith embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ! My friend, if you have never done so, let me encourage you to check out this message of hope: Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face. 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj