Deliver us from evil

We pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Deliver us from evil.” And yet, evil continues to strike those who are close to us.

The story has made its way onto the national news programs. It is a story that has shaken the WELS church, as well as the entire community of Libertyville, IL. It is a story that has affected many of the children at Shoreland, WLS and Training Camp.

A young girl is dead at the hands of her older sister.

Your children may have lots of questions. There aren’t really a lot of answers. But there is encouragement. It is encouragement that is found in Jesus Christ.

We need this encouragement because the world in which we live is very evil. But this evil isn’t just “out there” in the world. The evil is “right here” inside of each of us.

This evil lurks inside of us and can lash out at any moment. Cain killed his brother. Moses killed an Egyptian. David had Uriah killed. Peter cut off the ear of Malchus.

Even those who believe in the true God have evil in their hearts. But that evil does not remain hidden. It hurts, it cuts, it kills.

Unbelievers perform much evil in this world. But we need to teach our children that they have evil inside of them, too. We, also, need to understand that our hearts are full of evil.

And yet, Jesus is the One who delivers us from evil. He does this by stomping on the neck of the Evil One – the devil. He defeats sin with suffering and dying for that sin. He turns the tragic death of a young Christian into triumph for her at the resurrection.

Jesus delivers us from evil now and He will ultimately and eternally deliver us from evil in heaven.

If your children know about this tragedy, they are going to have questions. Answer those questions by pointing them to Jesus. If the questions become too difficult for you, direct them to myself or Mr. Patterson or one of the other pastors. Pastor Dolan prayed to the Lord about this incident in chapel at the Middle School on Friday. Then Mr. Patterson went to the classrooms to speak with the students and offer them counseling.

We are here to help.

Encourage your children not to discuss this incident on social media. It will only lead to speculation and gossip. Rather, have them offer up prayers for the family, the school, church and community in Libertyville.

Remind your children that there is so much evil in the world because there is so much sin in the world. We contribute to that evil because, we, too, are sinners. Yet, we have a Savior who overcomes this evil, forgives sin and is able to turn tragedy and death into triumph and resurrection through His blood.

Point your children to Jesus. Answer their questions with Jesus. Remind them that though there is tragedy, there is also triumph; though there is death, there is also resurrection; though there pain, there is also peace … all in Jesus.

And then pray the Lord’s Prayer with your children. Perhaps put special emphasis on the petition, “Deliver us from evil.”