In the wake of the deadly mass shooting at an Oregon community college Thursday, several reports indicated the gunman specifically targeted Christians.
Stacy Boylan, the father of a wounded student, recounted to CNN what his daughter told him:
Image source: YouTube
"This man ... was able to stand there and start asking people one by one what their religion was. ‘Are you a Christian?’ he would ask them. And if you’re a Christian, stand up. And they would stand up, and he said, ‘Good, because you’re a Christian, you’re going to see God in just about one second.' And then he shot and killed them.”
That stark reality hit Jenny Rapson especially hard.
Not because the editor of For Every Mom lost someone in the horrid act, but because she has three children she's raising to live as Christians — just like the students in that Oregon classroom.
And in the midst of her grief over the excruciating loss of life, Rapson found herself writing a letter to all the mothers who lost children in that room — all because they were willing to say "yes" when a man threatening their lives asked, "Are you a Christian?"
Roseburg residents gather at a candlelight vigil for the victims of a shooting Oct. 1, 2015, in Roseburg, Oregon. (Michael Lloyd/Getty Images)
"I know you are hurting today. I won’t pretend I know how badly," Rapson wrote. "I am a mom of three and the thought of not having my kids with me here on this earth scares and pains me and makes me feel short of breath. That that is a reality for you today, I am so, so sorry. I am grieved for you. I have shed tears for you and my heart breaks."
Then Rapson pointed out with amazement that after the first student was murdered for claiming faith in Christ, the remaining Christian students said "yes," knowing they would die, too.
"They said yes anyway," Rapson wrote.
She added that it's a "dark time in our world" for believers in Christ. "And in our country, it has been easy for a long, long time to claim Christ," she continued. "But it is getting harder now, and it will get harder still."
"The truth is before long, it may very well be ME or MY CHILDREN having to choose Christ over life. If that moment comes for me, I will think of your children. And I will have the strength to say YES," Rapson declared. "I pray and pray and pray that my young children, when they are 18, 21, 23 and in college like yours, will be strong enough to say YES also."
She acknowledged that the mothers of those students "made a difference" in their lives "in a way I know you never wanted or hoped or expected to" but added that "your child was able to look into the face of God yesterday and hear 'well done.'"
"And I’m pretty sure you had a lot to do with that," Rapson wrote.
This story has been updated.
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