![[Photo of the Boston Marathon Bombing]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/Boston_marathon_bombing.jpg)
| “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” | |
| —1 Peter 3:12 |
At 2:49 p.m. EDT on April 15, 2013, two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Boylston Street, killing three people and injuring 264 others, many very seriously. The dead included Krystle Marie Campbell, 29, a restaurant manager from Medford, MA; Lu Lingzi, a Chinese national and Boston University graduate student from Shenyang, Liaoning, China; and Martin William Richard, an eight-year-old boy from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, MA.
Certain events that occur during the course of our lives merit our remembering them. This is one such event, for it represents the personification of evil. Nothing can justify the taking of innocent human lives. That this bombing took place in response to a radical perversion of religion makes it all the more tragic.
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we understand that the question we should ask is not, “Why did this happen?” Rather, we should ask, “What can we learn from this terrible event?”
I suggest that one thing we can learn is that evil will never prevail. Said another way: evil will never win.
It is fitting that a few weeks ago, as we marked another anniversary of this horrible event, it fell this year in the midst of a horrible crisis in our nation: the COVID-19 pandemic. This anniversary also followed Holy Week this year. How fitting, for the very death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ set a marker in the sands of time. He conquered sin, and death, and evil. The bonds of Satan were broken at the foot of the cross. Death gave way to victory when Jesus rose from the grave.
As we continue celebrate our triumphant Lord and King each day, among other significant events, let us remember the destruction that evil caused in Boston seven years ago. But, let us also recognize that evil is an already-defeated foe. Evil will never win. The love, mercy, and grace of God will always prevail.
On the occasion of the first anniversary of this horrible bombing in Boston, I searched the internet and, to my amazement and to my somber delight, I discovered a poem written a few days after this terrible bombing by someone who was obviously moved by this event. Imagine my surprise when I learned the author of the poem was actually a high school classmate of mine.
Now, nearly 55 years have passed since we graduated from high school. During that time our paths had never crossed until that internet search reconnected us six years ago. It is really quite amazing how God can use events to reacquaint us with very special people from our distant pasts.
Here then is the poem, which perfectly expresses the reality that comes out of a tragedy that occurred seven years ago:
| Never Win | |
| You will never win, but you try For no bounds your ego knows You take captives But only those who allow Because your power is a sham An illusion, no depth, built on sand Beauty drives you crazy It must be marred and made ugly For beauty and truth belong to your enemy The one you want to be, but never can You thrive on lies Pain and cruelty your sidekicks You need them, no strength of your own Truth can't be destroyed But you twist and stretch Making distortion and perversion It is no use, you will never win But you don't know Devoid of wisdom, you keep trying But you will never win | |
| —Jackie Nuzzo Copyright © 2013. Used with Permission. All Rights Reserved. |
Christ has won the victory. Praise God that evil never wins!
