Stepping Heavenward

Sometimes the big planet on which we live feels a lot smaller than it looks.  One weekend last April, I went to visit my sister-in-law Brie and my two nieces in Arlington for a long weekend.  When we arrived at church on Sunday morning, I was surprised to see that their pastor was a kid I had grown up with at my church 280 miles away.  Jeff and Brie just love Clint Dobson, and kept telling me how much he had done for their church in the 2 years he'd been leading it.  We all visited some after the service, and I loved the look on Clint and his wife Laura's faces as Jeff tried to explain how this white girl was his little sister.  Priceless!  Isaac and I visited again in June, and Clint always thought it was fun to have the UBC representation at NorthPoint. 

Thursday night is babysitting night.  I don't remember life before Thursday babysitting night.  From 7:45-10:00 I'm with three of my favorite little people, mostly getting them to sleep and then reading a good book or working on Bible study.  I guess it was about 8:00 on this past Thursday when I heard my phone beep.  I ignored it because the two older kids and I had a fierce game of Mexican Train happening.  Concentration was needed!!  After I got them down for the night, I started returning calls, only to see Brie's message that Clint had been found murdered at NorthPoint about 4 hours earlier.  I stared at my phone in complete disbelief.  I did not just have that conversation with Brie; there was no way such a horrid thing could happen to a wonderful man of God who had a beautiful, young wife.  Impossible.   

I called our associate pastor's wife and spoke to her for a long time.  Their kids had grown up with Clint as well, and I found out more details, as least as much as anyone knew at the time.  Nothing made sense though, and my brain literally hurt trying to comprehend murder inside of a church building.

As events of the past week have unfolded, the world learned that two men were after credit cards and decided the church would make a good target.  I'm sure more details will be made known in the coming weeks.  However, for now, there isn't peace in those facts.  There's mental torment for the Dobson family, the two church families Clint influenced for Christ, and for Jeff, Brie, and the girls, as they try to figure out 'why?'. 

We live in a world where the Prince of Darkness has been given power to reign.  It's a tough fact to swallow when as Christians we strive to cling close to the power of Christ as possible and reject the evil of sin.  No, God didn't want Clint to be murdered, but because He gave humans free will so that none would be forced to love Him, He knew long before time began that this would happen.  Thankfully, God also gave a solution two thousand years ago on a cross as His Son suffocated to death (yes, there is irony there) to bridge the gap between eternal life and death for those who believe in Christ.  Praise Him! 

What's more, Clint is a martyr for the Faith.  We don't know yet what his last conversation on this side of Glory was like, but Clint died doing what the Lord had asked him to do with his life.  And while I know many people who are desperate for vengeance and justice, those will be handle by God.  He promises: Deuteronomy 32:41-43 and Nahum 1:2 are just two examples.  In the mean time, I know that Clint is with the martyred saints sitting at the throne, as described in Revelation 6:9-11, begging Christ to return soon.  May it be so, and may the Truth of the Lord that overflows from His Word bring comfort to those who are suffering until that glorious day.