This past week was eventful.  Not only did we wrap our second week of Crossroads Camps (with over 40 students saved and $4,000 raised for missions), but our community breathed a collective sigh of relief as a murderer who had killed five people in a week’s time was finally stopped, forever, by the police.  As I reflected on the situation and how it brought national attention to our region, I began to see some striking similarities between this serial killer and the ultimate murderer, Satan himself.

In John 10:10, Jesus gives His listeners some basic information about Satan.

1. He is a thief
2. He wants to kill
3. He wants to steal
4. He wants to destroy

In other words, Satan is not the kind of person you want to be friends with.  I would not let him babysit my kids or even come on my property.  As a matter of fact, it what Jesus said about Satan is true, he is a very bad guy indeed and he should be avoided at all costs.

The man who was killing people randomly next door to us in the neighboring county sounds alot like Satan.  He obviously took peoples lives from them by killing them in cold blood.  He also stole from them, not only their lives but also their money as well as stealing joy and love from the families that still mourn their death.  And in doing these despicable acts, he destroyed their lives, their families, and the sense of order and safety that communities must have in order to function as a society.

It was compelling to have such a stark reminder, right here in our own world, of what Satan is really like and what he intends to do to the human race.  When a madman goes on a killing spree, it seems to focus our faculties on evil, its very real presence and power to harm and hurt, and the need for good people in auhority to intervene and stop evil from causing more carnage.  Is it so hard to believe, in light of the evil that humans are capable of, that there is an enemy without hope for redemption, who has labored for thousands of years to eradicate the image of God from creation, and hates each of us with passionate resolve?

I believe in the serial killer not because I ever met him or even saw him in person, but because I saw the effects of his destruction and trustworthy people in authority told me about him.

I believe in Satan for the same reasons, even more so, because it was not the police who warned me about him, but the very Son of God.