Loving Fierce

There was a son who murdered his mother. It is sin. It is wrong. It is almost unimaginable, except for the fact that it happened.

 What I am going to say is not going to be popular. Many won't agree. However, knowing both of the people involved this is what it is. My words do not make it right and I am not making light of the situation, but knowing these two, it hurts me deeply each time I see another share from a supposed brother and/or sister in Christ.

The media is having a field day digging up every single thing from his past.

 Yes, she was a mother that loved her children deeply, madly, just as I love mine and you probably love yours. She was a young mother. She was a young mother with little help, however, she faithfully met the needs of her kids and loved them. She loved them fiercely just as most mothers love their children.

 He is a young man who walked a path of destruction in life. Guns. Violence. Gangs. Hate. Crime. These things were all easily accessible and a way of life on the street that made him seem successful in the eyes of the "friends." The looked appeasing. The difference between him and others... He got caught several times. He got of scotch free. We live in a broken world with a broken system. Nobody helped him. Nobody corrected. He was always welcomed back into the same path with open arms.

His mom told me several times how often she prayed for her boys.

I am so sick of seeing people post the al.com article from today. It is gut wrenching. It is like a blow to my gut each comment. Each word. Each share. People who claim to be Christians. People who are "open-minded." It is hurtful.

It is hard for some to fathom. It is easy for some to see the path. It is unimaginable that a son could kill his mother, yet it happened. It could happen to anyone. Anyone who was handed these exact same cards in life, it could have happened to you or someone you know personally.

You know what isn't unimaginable? Children never getting the help they need as a child. Children never having security. Children growing up in the projects.  (yes, I know SOME come out of that life and are ok, but check the statistics). Children taking care of themselves because fathers are not handling their role and mothers are forced to work multiple jobs. Children raising children. Children raising themselves in their parent(s) home. Gangs looking great to kids because it is a group of people that will stand up for them, fight for them, and make them money. It is not the right road and sadly, it is far to easy to take that road. It is a brotherhood and a "family." It is a unit of people that all have something in common and fight for that common things with each other. Unfortunately, that common thing is never good.

There are people mocking him for "aspiring to be a rapper." You know what? I am glad that a child who struggled year after year in school still had dreams. I am thankful for a momma who believed he could do anything and poured support into him. She loved him well until her last breath. I am thankful that a broken  education system that failed him didn't crush his dreams.

I saw people saying "he should be shot." "he will burn in hell." "he should take a bullet to the forehead." "She should have aborted him." "He will get what he deserves in prison." "He should get the death penalty." "Sorry piece of...." other things that are filled with words I won't type.

I for one hope none of the above happen. I especially hope he doesn't burn in hell. Actually, I hope just the opposite. I pray that one day he stands in heaven worshiping a God who saves.  I hope this is an opportunity for him to get his life together. I hope this is a wake up call to do just what his mom was trying to tell him. I pray that he comes to know the saving power of Christ. I pray that he receives grace, repents, and spends the rest of his days on this Earth winning people for the Lord. I pray that he makes a radical change in his life. I pray that at the end of his life, he can hold his head up high knowing that he was a changed man.  I pray that he understands the sin in his life and that he asks for forgiveness. I pray this is a wake-up call on his life. He has been given an opportunity. THIS is an opportunity for the church. This is an open space for us to flood him with the Gospel. The same one you came to know. The same grace you receive day in and day out. I for one plan on showering him with the gospel anyway I can get it into that prison cell.

Yes, it is atrocious what happened. Unfortunately, we are all to good at pointing the finger. To the non-believer, it is right and wrong. It is black and white. It is death or life. To the believer, sin and repentance, it's biblical or not, it is life on Earth and life in Eternity...at least it should be. Unfortunately, there are people who walk into churches week after week claiming to be Christians adding their two sense to the news articles condemning him to Hell. Yes, thou shalt not kill is a ten commandment. I have never found one single person who walked the face of this Earth who hasn't broken a ten commandment with the exception of Jesus himself. To God, sin is not weighted. Sin is sin. To the world, it is different, thankfully, we aren't the judge and jury on eternity. We serve a Savior who gives grace none of us deserve. Grace that is greater than ALL of our sin. Your sin. My sin. DeVarta Thomas' sin.

So before you get all share happy with your clicks, think about this as a human being. A life. A lost life. A life searching for something. A son who will live with killing his mother for the rest of his life. Someone who breathes the same air you and I do. Nothing would make his mom more proud than to know he got it together. He changed his life. He served a mighty God all the rest of his days.

DeVarta Thomas is human. He is a sinner just the same as you and I.

If it were my child and it meant my death so that he could have eternal life, I'd choose death everyday. I know Mrs. Tawanda would have too. Just like any momma, she loved her children something fierce.

Pray that he turns his life around. Pray that he accepts and lives for Christ. Pray that a difference is made in his life. Share that. It actually could lead to something positive.