The word love is tossed about too often - and used too carelessly. We say we “love” cake, or we “love” our motorcycle. We “love” fishing.”
The word was never meant to be handled so recklessly.
You will never hear me use this word when referring to the guns I own. I like them, and like to shoot them: but I have no love affair with any of them.
Don’t get me wrong. I am an advocate of the 2nd Amendment. Our forefathers knew what they were doing when they penned those words into the Constitution. It is a right that is not to be infringed upon.
But there is a love connection I have when it comes to guns.
I am a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment - because I am a staunch advocate of the 2nd Commandment: I love my neighbor. And I cling to the 2nd Commandment because of the effect of the 1st Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart.
My love for God, which is the result of His love for me, stirs my heart to love others.
I often hear people say that they are “not a people person.” I can certainly understand that: but I cannot excuse that. You are in violation of the command to “love your neighbor as you love yourself.” It is only natural that God’s child would be a “people person.”
As a matter of fact, your love for others is evidence that you have “passed from death to life” (1 John 3:14)
My love for God naturally leads me to love others. And it is the kind of love that drives me to care about my fellow citizens, even to the point that I am willing to protect them. Scripture states that “…love …always protects …”(1 Corinthians 13:7).
PLEASE GET THIS - If you succeed in business; if you drive a fancy car, live in a beautiful house, and have tons of cash - but don’t have love, then you are a failure. If you value your possessions, including your guns, more than people, you have certainly missed the mark.
If you fail to love, the Bible calls you a “nothing.” Read it yourself: “If I have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2).
FT WORTH AND BURLESON, TEXAS SHEEPDOG SEMINAR WITH LT. COL. DAVE GROSSMAN.
FRIDAY - JUNE 2. MORNING SESSION FOLLOWED BY AFTERNOON SESSION.
I think the gun debate has gone awry. It is completely off base - and fails to touch the heart of the matter. The heart of the matter is the protection of innocent lives. I care about others, and because I do, I will use whatever means necessary to protect them - including a gun.
Thus, I seldom go anywhere without my gun. Furthermore, I am well aware of the fact that as of today (April 15, 2023), there have been at least 146 mass shootings in America (that number is higher than the number of days we have had in 2023!).
Some will say I have a love affair with guns, but that is misleading. I can see through such trickery, for I know the truth: I have a love affair with my family, my friends, and my fellow Americans.
And the result of that is a determination to protect them if at all possible.
I do not allow the anti-gun crowd to tell me that I do not care about the children who are being gunned down in our schools. I do care. I weep over these massacres. And my response to them is simple: why don’t you care enough to put an armed person in the schools to protect them?
““I have a love affair with my family, my friends, and my fellow Americans…
And the result of that is a determination to protect them if at all possible…”
Audie Murphy was a great American hero in WW2. After the war, he was asked why he had seized the machine gun of a burning tank destroyer and taken on an entire company of German soldiers. His reply was simple: “They were killing my friends.”
I carry a firearm on my hip - because I carry my friends in my heart. I am not only thinking about my “right” to carry: I am thinking about my family, my friends, and my neighbors.
I. LOVE. THEM.
One night I boarded a train in Dallas and headed back to my home in Ft. Worth. The train was extra crowded that night; shoulder-to-shoulder people.
One of the passengers stood by the door and was obviously upset about something. His voice was loud, and his language was abusive. His anger was evident as he ranted aloud.
An elderly woman was seated right next to him, and I could tell she was very nervous. As a matter of fact, I was too. I was fearful that he was about to do something stupid - something violent.
I looked at the nervous woman seated next to him and asked her if we could swap seats. She gladly agreed to do so and breathed a sigh of relief as we made the exchange.
Seated next to the man, I was now in a position to take him on should he turn violent.
Now let’s get something straight: I am no hero, and I have never confessed to being one. My fighting skills are not up to par. A physical fight with this disturbed man might have cost me my life. I could have died right there on that train. Gee, that would have been a bummer.
““I carry a firearm on my hip - because I carry my friends in my heart.””
But I did have one skill: love. You might say that in that short moment, I “fell in love” with that dear lady. And I knew I had to practice what I had preached to others: “Love … always protects…(1 Cor. 13:7).
Fortunately, it turned out okay.
Let me give you a prime example of what love looks like…
WHY did Stephen Willeford rush out of his house with an AR-15 on Sunday morning, November 5, 2017, toward the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas - about 50 yards from his house?
His daughter had told him she had heard gunshots at the church. But that’s not WHY he went after the killer (who had just shot 46 of the worshipers - killing 26).
He went after him, and shot him, because, in his own words, “I LOVE those people …”
Watch the 24-second clip below and hear Stephen tell you why he did what he did.
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