(by Geoff Brown)

Famously, in I Corinthians 15:55, the Apostle Paul asked, “O death, where is thy sting?”

Well, Paul, two years ago today, we found it. If you’re still looking, that sting is at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.

And, even though there are as many as 1,635 miles between Nashville and Phoenix, that sting struck pretty close to home.

Rather than terms like “diabolical monstrosity” or “unrivaled heinousness”, after nineteen school shootings with at least one casualty in the last three months alone, our jaded culture has demurely christened them as “active shooters”. I would describe what this particular “active shooter” did this past Monday as “unimaginable” but, strictly speaking, that’s not true.

The truth is, I can imagine it. And with the increasing frequency of these atrocities, it is getting easier and easier to imagine.

So, where do we go from here? How does our culture take action today so that this travesty’s twin does not visit our school, or any school, tomorrow?  Unbelievably, in school board meetings across the nation we’re talking about the sorts of facilities improvements that previously we would only imagine in warzones.  But, for all the “target hardening” we have done and all of the “countermeasures” we have deployed, the reality which now enjoys growing undeniability is that these tourniquets will only stem the bleeding from a culture-wide wound which only the Gospel can heal.

Why? Because, we’re all reading the same stuff. We’re looking at the very same things. Yet, for some reason, folks in our world are seeing it all very differently, drawing very different conclusions. There are those whose hopelessness and hurt have hampered sight of any other path but harm.

So, what is that “some reason” that I reference? Worldview.

What is a worldview? A recent sign that I encountered, pictured above, may serve to illuminate.

Which is it? How do you read the sign? “You matter. Don’t give up.” Or, “You don’t matter. Give up.” The very same words.

It is undeniable: our perception of our world informs our view of truth and it is on this foundation that we ground our beliefs, decisions, and actions.

How you perceive and present the world around you is your worldview. Biblical worldview represents hope and healing for the hurt of this broken world. It is the one hope that our hurting world needs so desperately–the only true remedy–and His name is Jesus.

Geoff Brown is the Superintendent of Northwest Christian School located in Phoenix, AZ. Northwest Christian School is one of the largest private Christian schools in the state of Arizona and the only ACSI Exemplary Accredited school in the state.

This post is sponsored by NCS Online. NCS Online is a fully online K-11th grade Christian school providing an online education that is rigorous, affordable, and rooted in Biblical worldview. To learn more about NCS Online, visit NCSonline.org.