Success by Whose Standards

Success by Whose Standards

If he had been your son, or your neighbor’s son you would have been proud of his accomplishments.  He was a nice looking young man, and it was reported that; "He was the kind of person that if you teased him, he would sit there and smile and really not do anything about it," said Jordan Toth, a high school classmate of Holmes. 

Holmes is originally from San Diego, where he once reportedly worked as a camp counselor for underprivileged children. He was an honors student at Westview High School, but did not walk in his graduation ceremony.   In 2010, he graduated with top honors from University of California Riverside with a bachelors of science in neuroscience, and then moved to Aurora to pursue his education at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.  He was one of six recipients of a Neuroscience Training Grant from the National Institutes of Health, which funds pre-thesis Ph.D. students in the neuroscience program at the Anschutz Medical Campus.  My source: Taken from ABC “Good Morning” show.

One of James Holmes neighbors had this to say; "This was a nice kid, grew up in a nice neighborhood. And I don't know what happened," said Kim Goff, Holmes' mother's neighbor.

It seems as if James was good at most of what our culture calls success, he was successful at planning a mass murder of people who had no quarrel with him, and whom he had never met, and being the evil coward he is, also made sure that the police did not shoot him, and if they had his plan was to have sufficient body armor to survive.  James did not arrive at this plan over night, but I do believe that James opened himself up to the evil one, the one the Bible calls Satan or the devil.   Jesus also calls him a thief and has this to say about that thief in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

If you visited the families that lost a family member or one whose child or mother is fighting for life in a hospital, they would not think of James as successful, but would understand that he allowed the evil one to carry out his mission using his earthsuit.  I know nothing about this man but what has been reported, but what I do know is that worldly success void of a relationship with God leaves a big hole in a persons life that is always filled with something, for many it’s a job or family, some people fill it with travel and others with drugs or sex, but at the end of the day they are still looking for the joy and peace that only Christ can give a person.  I know from personal experience that Jesus can and will fill that void, but first a person must tire of trying to fill it.  In the case of James Holmes, maybe no one ever showed him the light, we may never know, but this is a fact, James allowed darkness to fill that emptiness, and now the pre-thesis Ph.D. student in neuroscience has not only brought death to other families, but also brought death to the vision that his family had for him.

Today was the first day I prayed for him; yesterday I wished that someone had been able to stop him before he acted on his plan.  But today I have a new flash, he got conned by the one Jesus calls the father of lies, and he is one of millions who are being deceived while Christians who have light are not sharing the good news that Jesus loves you and wants to give you freedom to restore what sin has stolen.  I had to come to this understanding again today; that God so loves James (the mass murderer) Holmes, that He gave His only Son, that if James will bow his knee to him this day, God will forgive his sin of murder and give him a new heart, full of joy and peace, and a place in heaven for eternity.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

http://fromourbackporch.blogspot.com/