The
Ultimate Sacrifice
By Karen D’Amore
“…and He died
for all.”
2 Corinthians 5:15a (NIV)
What began as an ordinary Sunday…ended
in the most dreadful carnage imaginable. October 1, 2017 was the final night of
the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. Country music artist Jason
Aldean was performing his final set of the evening before 22,000 people. At
10:05 pm, as the attendees joyfully sang and danced with the music, an active
shooter on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel blasted the
crowd with an arsenal of gunfire.
Videos captured smiles collapsing
under desperate expressions of panic and fear as the crowd ran for their lives.
After ten minutes of active repetitive gunfire, the horrific incident would be
deemed the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history with an excess of 500
people sustaining injuries and 58 succumbing to death.
In the aftermath of the mass
shooting, countless stories chronicled details and emotions of how victims,
witnesses, first responders and families were personally impacted by the
devastating incident. News and social media became inundated with tear-stained
testimonials of survivors sharing expressions of gratitude for their personal
heroes. Though sickened and disheartened by the terrifying videos and
unfathomable details of the incident, the stories of heroism had a magnetic
pull on my heart.
So many survivors shared details of
the protection provided by heroes who covered and shielded them from the spray
of gunfire. Many of those heroes made the ultimate sacrifice…taking fatal
bullets while shielding loved ones, and in some cases, protecting total
strangers. Those survivors who lived, due to the shielding of those heroes,
will never forget the ultimate sacrifice made on their behalf. And I can only
speculate that they will never take for granted the modern-day “saviors” who
saved them.
As I contemplated the innumerable
acts of bravery and heroic sacrifices, I was keenly aware of the fact that not
one person rejected those acts of sacrificial protection. In fact, medical
responders shared the heart-wrenching details of victims begging to be saved.
These heroic stories are a vivid
depiction of what happened on the cross. [1]
What began as an ordinary day
thousands of years ago, ended with the most incomprehensible act of bloodshed
known to mankind. Scourged with flesh-gouging whips…pierced with a crown of
thorns…impaled with three nails… Jesus hung for hours and laid down His life on
a cross. Protecting all who choose to believe…from eternal death…Jesus made the
ultimate sacrifice for all of mankind.
Let us never forget - - or take for
granted - - the Savior who shields us from eternal death. And let’s be vigilant
in rescuing those who continue to reject His sacrificial protection.
GOING
DEEPER:
1. Who do you know who needs
rescuing?
FURTHER
READING:
Married to Dan, Karen, a retired
police officer, currently works as a Manicurist at Craig Berns Salon and as an
instructor in the Cosmetology Department at WCTC. Karen also serves on the
Welcoming Team at Oakwood.
[1] John 3:16
