| “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). |
| On April 20, 1999, in Columbine High School in the state of Colorado, U.S.A., two troubled young men with guns went on a shooting rampage, killing other students and boasting as they went. They eventually killed thirteen of their fellow students. One of those students was a young girl named Cassie Bernall, who was a Christian. When the shooting was going on, and the young men with guns were coming down the hall, many students hid under tables, especially in the library. Cassie was among those in the library and was probably praying. The young men approached her and asked if she believed in God. When she said, “Yes,” they immediately shot her in the head, killing her instantly. |
| Cassie had no time to think about what she would say; she had to decide right on the spur of the moment, facing young men with guns, whether to confess her faith in God. Her confession resulted in her being shot. She was only seventeen years old. |
| Are you and I ready to give an answer to those who ask us a reason of the hope that is in us? We do not normally think that a Christian would be shot and killed for her faith in a country like the U.S.A., but these young men were fanatical, and wanted to go around killing people. Another student who overheard Cassie’s voice when she said “yes” to those young men said that her voice was strong and clear. Her confession has been an encouragement to many other young people. |
| You might be interested to know that Cassie Bernall was not always a nice Christian girl. When she was younger, she got in with the wrong crowd, and was involved in some Satanic activities. All this escalated to such a degree that her parents actually made her go to a different high school, and would not allow her to associate with her former friends. Cassie remained rebellious, but then one evening at a Christian camp the beautiful singing reached into her soul, and she accepted the Lord Jesus as her Savior. This happened when she was sixteen. The morning of the day she was shot, she wrote a note to her good friend Amanda, saying, |
| “Honestly, I want to live completely for God. It’s hard and scary, but totally worth it.” |
