How to Share Your Faith Using the Amish School Shooting Tragedy
The horse and buggy Amish community's faith has been front and center since the tragic school shootings in Pennsylvania that took the lives of 5 Amish girls and injured 5 others. While their simple, 18 th century lifestyle may seem odd in our age of modern conveniences and comforts, the uniqueness, depth and genuineness of their walk with God has shone through in the media coverage surrounding this recent tragedy.
Some of the Amish community's comments have included:
- "We're really strongly taught to forgive like Jesus did. We forgive the way Christ forgives us."
- "I don't think there's anybody here that wants to do anything but forgive and not only reach out to those who have suffered a loss in that way but to reach out to the family of the man who committed these acts."
- "You need to go on and just trust. God will take care of us."
- "We think it was God's plan, and we're going to have to pick up the pieces and keep going. A funeral to us is a much more important thing than the day of birth because we believe in the hereafter. The children are better off than their survivors."
- "We need to go through trials to strengthen our faith. We need to accept it. There is no other way we can go on."
As the girls who were critically injured recover enough to talk about the tragic events that unfolded inside their one-room school house that terrible day, an incredible depth of the self-sacrifice was evident in the behavior of the oldest victim. Reportedly, before the shooting started the oldest girl present in the school house, 13 year old Marian Fisher, pleaded with the gunman, saying, "Shoot me and leave the others alone."
Through their Christ-like response to this tragic event, the Amish have exhibited Jesus' love and forgiveness to a world they usually strive to remain sheltered from. They have been a shining witness to God at work in their hearts in the very toughest of trials.
As you have opportunities to talk about this tragedy with your friends, use it to talk about the source of hope and strength that God is in your life. Here are some ideas to help you 'bring God up' in your conversations:
- Ask your friends what they think of the Amish community's ability to extend forgiveness to the gunman?
- Are you a forgiving person? Where do you think forgiveness comes from? Do you generate it yourself? Share what you believe.
- Find out if your friends understand what the Bible says about God's free offer of forgiveness for us. For help explaining this, check out GOSPEL Journey.
- Can you imagine offering your life as a sacrifice for the release of others, like 13 year old Marian Fisher did? Explain how Jesus did this for us!
As they walk through their grief, the Amish have been an incredible example of turning people's attention toward God in the midst of trials and tragedy. Are you doing all you can in the midst of the circumstances of your life to draw people's attention toward God?
