Nova Scotia Mass Shooting & the Fragility of Life

We were deeply saddened by the news out of Nova Scotia yesterday that 22 people have been gunned down in a senseless act of violence. Let us join together to pray for the families and friends of the victims, who are grieving loved ones lost. This, combined with everything else presently going on in this covid-19 pandemic, is a strong reminder, once again, that life is fragile.

If you read letters that passed between Christians 100 years ago, you’ll notice a common postscript: D.V. These two letters stand for the Latin words: Deo Volente—which means “God willing” or “if the Lord wills.” Because life is fragile, we cannot assume anything, but rather, as the book of James says, we ought to live with the perspective, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15).

Each day is a gift from God. May we live therefore with an attitude of humble dependance on God, who is ultimately in control of our life. Just as the Psalmist acknowledged, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psallm 139:16).
God has a certain number of days for each of us. But since we don’t know what that is, we must receive each day as a gift from God.