Author: Lorne Robinson

I possess more than 30 years of progressive experience in public relations and serving others. In my present role as National Director at Kingdom Advisors, I have opportunities to engage with Christian financial professionals across Canada. My passion is to help people find a deeper purpose in their financial dealings and contentment with their lifestyle.

A Favourite Christmas Tradition

A Favourite Christmas Tradition

It’s that time of year again when we get to take some time off and make special memories with family. Our family loves to watch movies during the holiday season and one of my favourites is: “It’s A Wonderful Life.” My son messaged me this week and said, “Dad, it looks like you’re in good company with your favourite Christmas movie choice.” 

He was quoting an article from the BBC News website that stated:

It’s A Wonderful Life is a classic festive feel-good film about a man who has devoted his life to helping others.

But when he tries to take his own life a guardian angel stops him and shows him the value of his life.

A wonderful Life

The reason I like this movie so much is because it reminds me, in some ways, of my own life. Simply put life doesn’t always go the way we might have envisioned, but this movie serves as a great reminder that the impact of our life is usually greater than we realize, especially when life is not necessarily pleasant.

In the movie, Clarence, a guardian angel, shows George Bailey the value of his life by having him see what his community and the lives he knew so well would be like if he had not actually lived. If we had not ever lived, the lives of those we love and care about would not be the same at all. In essence, their lives would be the lesser without us. The movie is a reminder that one life enriches and can change the lives of others without realizing it.

It’s interesting that the very thing that was such a burden (his work and its challenges) became the very thing that brought the greatest level of pleasure and fulfillment in the end. Clarence gave him a different perspective which made all the difference for George Bailey. Sometimes all we need is a fresh perspective – one which causes us to see that even when our lives are messy, broken and not how we would like it to be, there is still an element that is actually wonderful. 

Do you realize that your life adds meaning to those around you? Have you ever thought about your family, your co-workers and friends and wondered what their lives would look like if you were not present? 

Merry Christmas! It’s a Wonderful Life!

Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday

Have you noticed you are seeing a lot of extra messages in the past several days? Whether on social media or even your inbox, these messages are intended to entice you to purchase more, then maybe, give some of it away.

It’s interesting that this advertising campaign follows the Thanksgiving holiday where Americans have a day to be thankful for all they have. Then Black Friday, which turns into a weekend event that culminates on Cyber Monday, is actually about getting more or updating what you already have. We are all encouraged to spend more and in many cases we are spending more than we are earning. It doesn’t seem to matter the cost, as long as we have the latest and the greatest. All the advertising encourages us to increase our standard of living.

Have you ever calculated how much of your income goes to living? In other words, how much is simply consumed. Typically 50% – 70% of what you receive goes toward lifestyle. Is it any wonder that so many struggle financially? Then comes Giving Tuesday, which is meant to help us re-focus to increase our standard of giving.

Sadly, we have typically increased our standard of living so significantly, there is not much left to increase our standard of giving.

There must be a better way and there is … it is called stewardship! The dictionary defines a steward as “a person who looks after someone on a ship, aircraft or train.” It is also defined as an official who supervises a public event, or one who manages or looks after another’s property.

So ask yourself, do you see all of your property as your own or do you see it as belonging to another? If you ask most followers of Christ, “Does God own it all,” the immediate response is “Yes, God owns it all.” Living that out can be quite challenging though, because if God truly owns what we possess, then we need to be consulting the owner when making our management decisions. We need to know the heart of the owner because all of our spending decisions are really spiritual decisions.

So considering that God is the owner of our finances and we are the stewards or managers of what has been entrusted to us, do you think the owner is pleased with our management? Consider the days that have just passed: Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday. Which of those days do you think the Owner is most excited about? And which of those days are you as the manager most excited about? If the manager knows the heart of the owner, wouldn’t the manager and owner be excited about the same days?

This is exactly the point; we are to see ourselves as managers of what God has entrusted to us. Part of the reason the owner gives us so much is actually for our enjoyment, but our greatest task as manager is to know His heart. So as a popular christian song says, “break my heart for what breaks Yours.”

Here’s an interesting question: when you receive a pay-raise or bonus, what increases – your standard of living or your standard of giving? Maybe it is a good idea to put a cap on your living expenses; that way when increase comes, it can be more easily directed to your giving. If you are truly a steward, you will manage your financial affairs to please the owner, not necessarily to satisfy your own desires. Then the owner is pleased to entrust more for you to manage – more to be thankful for and more excitement to give than to spend.

The Difference in a Decade

The Difference in a Decade

Facebook has a way of reminding you of what you were doing 10 years ago and of course, encourages you to share those memories.

Do you remember what was happening 10 years ago? Two things are pretty significant because it would affect so many Canadians:

PM Harper at Deer Lake1. There was a federal election in Canada,

2. The stock market was dropping and could not seem to find a bottom.

For me, those times included some of the most dramatic events that led to a major life change. I ran as a Conservative candidate in the 40th Canadian General Election. Whenever people find out about my election run they ask, “How did you do?” My reply usually starts with, “Do you remember Danny Williams, the Premier of Newfoundland Labrador? Remember his ABC campaign (Anybody But Conservative)?” The result: no Conservative was elected in the province in that election, not even those who were favoured!

After the election, I returned to my financial planning practice (10 years ago on this very day, October 15th).  My clients, like others around the world, were seeing their portfolios declining by thousands, especially in the weeks I was campaigning in an election that I had no chance of winning. They were still on an emotional roller coaster wondering if they would ever regain what was lost.

Screen Shot 2018-10-15 at 10.38.02 AMThis led me to a very dark place, what my wife often refers to as my mid-life crisis. I struggled with the fact that I was not there for my clients when they needed me most; that was a fail. I put my name forward to run in a federal election and felt very much alone, especially after the devastating election night. I felt defeated (in more ways than just the election) and questioned my purpose. If you look at the chart and the shaded area of yellow, the stock market decline seemed to parallel my life at this time. What was my life all about anyway? It was one of my lowest, darkest times.

I needed a change, a new direction, maybe a new career. I needed something to get me out of this dark place. I searched the web every evening after work for opportunities that I felt suited for but came up empty. Or did I? I prayed but those results didn’t appear any better. I did, however, find a new role with a different Credit Union. This did not seem to make much sense though because it meant I would be managing less than 20% of the assets I was managing where I was. That decision just didn’t seem to make sense but I just knew I had to make a change.

What is interesting is that in my job search, I also found a membership organization for Christian financial professionals known as Advisors with Purpose (now known as Kingdom Advisors). I joined as a member and started to participate in the monthly coaching calls. I also did the KA Core Training which helped me understand what it meant to be called to the role of financial planning. I never really felt called to be a financial planner; it was more like just a job for me, but my perspective began to change. As time progressed, I realized more and more that I was “called” to do what I was doing. It was not just a job, but my interaction with clients was indeed an answer to the calling I felt in life for many years.

Fast forward to the fall of 2013 when I am asked to become the National Director of Kingdom Advisors in Canada. This would mean helping other Christian financial professionals understand their own calling; that excited me. It also meant leaving my practice and clients and leaving “the rock” (Newfoundland), where I had lived all my life; that scared me.

In 2015, I left my book of business behind and my wife and I moved to Ontario, just on the outskirts of Ottawa. I ended up in the Ottawa region anyway, not because I was elected as a Member of Parliament, but to fulfill a completely different purpose. Life has taken a very different path than I thought. I can truly say it is a journey of faith that is not without dark moments.

I am reminded of this scripture in Isaiah 45:3 (NIV):

I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel (& Canada), who summons (or calls) you by name.

Have you ever felt like your life is like a chart of the stock market? Has it often resembled that sort of roller coaster ride? Look for the treasures that may be hidden in the dark place, invest your life at that point where opportunity presents itself because the return on the investment of your life can be significant and have eternal rewards!

Have You Discovered Your Why?

Have You Discovered Your Why?

Last week was one of those special weeks where I was privileged to interact with some amazing influencers in the Christian financial services industry. More than ninety financial professionals from 7 of the 10 provinces in Canada came together in Toronto for the Kingdom Advisors Canada Conference.

BradThe majority of these advisors have figured out why they do what they do and surprisingly, it’s not just for the career, the money or the position. It’s because they feel called and that calling is usually defined by some life experience. After the conference, I was intrigued to read an article about one of our speakers, Brad Smith.

Photo taken from an article published by Wealth Professional Canada, written by Leo Almazora.

The article describes how Brad always saw protecting his clients’ wealth as his primary role. I believe this to be true for most financial advisors but that all changed for Brad after an incident with one of his very first clients.

“Henry was a factory worker, and he had done everything right,” he said. “He’d put his kids through school; by the time he retired, he was financially set to achieve everything we’d planned for. He couldn’t wait to leave the factory behind.”

No one could have imagined what would happen next: not long after his retirement, the man who’d done everything right tried to take his life. After finding out what happened from Henry’s wife, Smith visited him at the hospital and asked what drove him to it.

“Henry said ‘Nobody needs me. Nobody at work needs me, my kids don’t need me,’” he recalled. “’I went to my doctor because I was losing sleep, and he just gave me pills. I took them home, asked myself what it all meant, and downed all of them.’”

Genuinely concerned, Smith and a few of Henry’s loved ones brainstormed to help him find a purpose; he was passionate about hockey, so he decided to coach minor-league hockey teams and ultimately got out of his funk.

The whole affair marked a turning point for Smith. “I realized that if I succeed only in taking care of my client’s money — making sure it’s used well and ensuring a good return on investment — I have failed as an advisor,” he said. “I didn’t want another Henry.”

It seems this is when Brad began to find out his “why” and purpose in his profession as a financial advisor. The typical thinking is that dealing with a financial advisor is about rates of return on an investment portfolio or taking care of a client’s money. No doubt it does include those things, but discovering that his career path was about something far more important had a significant impact on his business and client relationships.

Over time, Smith found a similar pattern with other clients; many who were financially prepared for retirement were actually unprepared in emotional or psychological ways. That prompted them to develop a seven-step program to help clients lead lives of success and significance, a major part of which is to give generously to the benefit of others.

The seven step process  that Brad walks his clients through is the “journey to meaningful  significance.” Every year the Kingdom Advisors conference recognizes someone whose life demonstrates Christian character, unparalleled professional competency, along with the integration of biblical wisdom into their advice and counsel.  Brad journeys with his clients toward a life of significance and in this process has discovered his own life of significance. At the KA Conference in September 2018, Brad became the recipient of the Advisor with Purpose award because he has truly become an advisor with purpose.

A Truck By Accident

A Truck By Accident

Three years ago, we left Newfoundland and moved to Ontario. Now in 2018, it was time to rent another Uhaul to move our son, his wife along with our grandson from Toronto, Ontario to Gatineau, Quebec. That’s where this story gets interesting.

I go to pick up the rental truck, only to be told the 15 foot truck my daughter-in-law Amanda had ordered was in an accident and had to be inspected and was no longer available for us to rent. He said, “I have another truck for you though, it’s a little bigger, would that be OK?”

I replied by explaining how they had moved from Toronto a month ago in a 15 foot truck, stored everything in my garage and since that time they purchased an oak table with 6 chairs plus two night tables for their bedroom, so an extra 5 feet would not go astray.

Here is how Amanda explained her day (before moving day) on her Facebook post:

Well, today was eventful. I lost my keys, then found them under the seat of my car. We went to pick up our truck for tomorrow’s move, but it was in an accident. So we picked up a 20′ truck at 5 for the same price as the 15′ truck. Then I got a call that our fridge/stove order was cancelled, and wouldn’t be delivered tomorrow but we’d have to wait a week or two for it to arrive. So we went to Home Depot and got the same fridge and almost the same stove for $800 cheaper than our original order. We’re picking them up with our Uhaul tomorrow morning.

The one thing she didn’t really explain was that the Home Depot in Carleton Place could not deliver to Quebec, so the fridge and stove would need to be  transported rather than be delivered. I quickly realized the 20′ truck was not just a replacement for the smaller truck but actually needed to make the move in one trip.

It was like someone knew and even arranged a larger truck for us to make the move. When I picked it up, I understood Home Depot was delivering the fridge to their Gatineau home the following day. I certainly had no idea we would need the extra space in the truck, nor did the guy at Uhaul.

Many people would say that all of this is simply things falling into place, but I can’t help but think about the words of Jesus:

Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? (Matt. 6:26)

Many would probably say that God is not involved in our lives like that but here is the answer  I would respond with:

Just as you don’t know the path of the wind, or how bones develop in the womb of a pregnant woman, so also you don’t know the work of God (see Eccl. 11:5).

You can choose to say these events are just coincidence and has nothing to do with God’s activity. I choose instead to give God glory for caring for us similar to how He cares for the birds of the sky or the grass of the field. If God feeds the birds and cares for the grass, I believe He can arrange the right size of Uhaul we need, even if we ordered a smaller one.

Have you ever had good things happen that are almost too good to be true? Do you thing God has any part of this or is it just coincidence?

Yesterday’s Miracle

Yesterday’s Miracle

Yesterday didn’t start at all the way I desired. I was scheduled to speak at a local church and was pretty excited about sharing until I woke up at 5:45 AM feeling quite dizzy and nauseous. I tried to sleep longer but by 9 AM I actually felt worse and began throwing up. What was I to do? I knew the pastor was away so as weak as I felt, I went to the church and sat through the entire service until it was time to speak. I felt so exhausted that I wondered if I should stand or if it might be best to speak from a stool instead.

What’s interesting is that my topic was “Let These Words Sink Into Your Ears” with the idea that God’s Word has the power to provide health to your body and nourishment to your bones. I told the people that as I drove to the church I felt my strength was at about 25%, but after the worship time, I was at least 50%. When I was about halfway through the message, I felt much stronger, like I was at 75% – 85%. Two people came up to me after and said that when I started, I looked very pale but as I shared God’s Word, the colour in my face returned.

Here was my prayer at the beginning which were really my sermon points:

Lord, open my:

Ears to hear Your Word

Mind to Understand Your Word

Heart to Believe Your Word

Spirit to Trust Your Word

Bones to be Healed and Refreshed by Your Word.

I’m convinced that healing came to me as a result of God’s Word being spoken. After having a nap and eating lunch, I felt well enough to ride 25 kilometres on my bicycle.

If you would like to listen to my message follow this link:

Let These Words Sink In

When you consider it, the words you hear bring you to a place of understanding. Your thinking gradually shifts to shape what you believe. Your beliefs determine who you trust and when you have confidence in someone, it will impact how you live. So that’s really how words filter into you bones and bring life!

When Time Touches Eternity

When Time Touches Eternity

The US Marines have a saying – “In order to get to heaven, you have to die!”

That statement is interesting indeed, but I would ask the following questions: Is your life over when you die? What comes after death? Do you think of life in two parts – one part that we are living now, which ends when we die, and then a second part, eternal life (or getting to heaven)?

When I have asked those questions, most answer: the afterlife is an entirely different life than our present life, whether you believe in God or not. In order to get to heaven (eternal life), you have to die (so this life ends).

Is this belief biblical? Or is it more like: when you die physically, you actually continue to live on, just in a different place? Maybe you haven’t given this much thought but it is really important to consider.

We typically think about our existence as two entirely separate lives, but Jesus spoke of  one life that continues into eternity because we believe in Him. He said that our life here (on earth) actually impacts our life there (in heaven).

For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.

In other words, the consequences of our actions while we are here on earth are actually meaningful in eternity, yet most just “live for today” not considering any future return from the investment of our present lives. We often quote “He/she will reap what they sow” and typically are thinking about consequences soon after the action(s) occurs, not in eternity. This, of course, is true in the example of the farmer who sows seed to reap a harvest later in the fall of the year. It is interesting that the next verse following Gal. 6:7 (reaping and sowing) references reaping “eternal life,” connecting our life in the present with our eternal destiny.

Maybe we live our lives with too much of a disconnect from the eternal life that we are promised. I read something interesting from Mark Batterson’s book entitled “If.”

In the Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis demonstrates that God wants humankind to attend chiefly to two things: “to eternity itself, and to that point in time which they call the Present. For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity.
In light of that truth, Screwtape, the veteran demon, advises a novice named Wormwood with these words: “Our business is to get them away from the eternal, and from the Present. With this in mind we sometimes tempt a human … to live in the Past.”

Two things grabbed my attention:

1. The Present is the point at which time touches eternity

2. The conversation between demons discussing their business of distracting humans “away from the eternal.”

heavenly mindedOur present lives today are meant to be lived in a manner that touches or impacts eternity. In order for that to happen, we must have an eternal perspective which will impact what we value.  If all we do is live for today, we may be living a distracted life, distracted from what should be our true priority.

C.S. Lewis says it this way:

If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world are those who thought most of the next.

This means the idea about being “so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good” is a fallacy.

Do you feel you are only living for today?  Would it be more impactful today if you could gain an eternal perspective?

Father’s Day Reversal

Father’s Day Reversal

Well this Father’s Day will be the most different of any that I can remember. I don’t expect to see any of my children today and my wife is not even with me, because she is with her Dad today, which is pretty special for her.

Since I have been asked to share this morning in a local church I have been thinking, “What is Father’s Day all about anyway?”  Here is the brief history of this special day:

Some credit the first Father’s Day celebration to Sonora Smart Dodd for honouring her father, a veteran of the Civil War, who raised his family as a single Dad when his wife died giving birth to their sixth child. To show her appreciation for her father’s efforts, after listening to a church sermon on Mother’s Day in 1909, Sonora initially suggested that there should be a day to celebrate him and other dads like him in the State in which they lived and farmed. After much campaigning, the first Father’s Day was held in Washington State on June 19, 1910. Although Father’s Day was celebrated throughout the U.S. as an unofficial day for Dads after that date, it was in 1966, Lyndon B. Johnson, through an executive order, designated the third Sunday in June as the official day to celebrate Father’s Day. It wasn’t until 1972, during the Nixon administration, that Father’s Day was officially recognized as a national holiday.

While it’s great to celebrate Dads, I’ve been thinking that I need to celebrate my children. Here is what I mean: if you think about a fathers role, isn’t it about investing your life into your children? I take this lesson from our Heavenly Father. When Jesus was baptized here is what Scripture records in Mark 1:10-11.

As soon as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved Son; I take delight in You!

Three things to note for Dads:

1. The heavens were opened

Our inspiration needs to come from heaven, that is where the initial example of fatherhood comes from. Heaven was obviously closed but opened up or was “torn open” for a reason. Most of us just think about heaven as a place prepared for us, that we will go to when we die. Isn’t heaven is so much more? Can heaven impact our world today? I believe heaven is what sustains the earth (see Hebrews 1:3) so in that sense sustains everyone on the earth.  That is what makes the Lord’s prayer so powerful, it is asking heaven to open and influence the earth!

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2. A voice from heaven (the Father spoke)

When I think about my voice being heard I realize I need to think before I speak. As I reflect on the words I’ve spoken to my children, sometimes in anger and frustration, I must ask for their forgiveness. The words spoken in my wedding vows come to mind: “… always speak words of grace that will build you up.” The word “always” stands out to me. I have never forgotten those words but have often fallen short of them. I cannot claim that my words are always inspired by heaven because they are at time influenced more by the earthly challenges I deal with from day to day. My prayer this morning is: “May I look more to heaven before I speak words to my children.”

3. Words of love and acceptance

The time of baptism is seen as the beginning of Jesus’ ministry so in one sense He hadn’t accomplished too much in life because he was just getting started. However, He was a carpenter so maybe more was accomplished than we may typically think about. Why was the Father pleased? I think the reason is pretty simple: the Son was on the earth and moving toward His purpose. He was an example to us and contributed in His world before His baptism and most certainly after these words were spoken to Him. Did it matter what He had done? The Father was “well pleased” and expressed exactly that to the Son.

Today I want to reverse Father’s Day! Instead of waiting for messages from my children, to celebrate Father’s Day, I want to send them a message:

“I’m very proud of you, not for what you have accomplished or will accomplish in your life, but simply because you are my child! You are on this earth and moving toward your purpose! You are a gift to me and I will always love you. Whatever difficulties you may face in life, I pray you will always feel you can come to me and find a place of acceptance. After all, I am your father!”

Happy Father’s Day!

 

 

 

I Lost My Watch

I Lost My Watch

In April 2015, I transitioned from 24 years as a financial planner and became the National Director for Kingdom Advisors where I now connect with Christian financial professionals across Canada. At that time, I was given a Hugo Boss watch from a fund company which meant a lot to me because it was a symbol of an important time of transition in my life.

Fast forward to August 2017 – my wife and I flew back to our home province for a few weeks. We were blessed to have friends who offered us their car to use while we were there. Let me interject a little about my friends, Keith and Alma: we have spent sufficient time together to be completely comfortable with them and they really understand that “The Lord owns it all.” To illustrate our relationship, I sent this text to them when we were about to fly back home: “So thankful for the use of the BMW the Lord blessed you with. Note: I avoided saying ‘your vehicle’ because I know you understand that what you have is the Lord’s. You are such a blessing!!”

After we arrived home from our trip, I searched through every piece of luggage and pockets of my jacket but could not find my watch. We called back to my in-laws, where I thought I had likely left it; they searched the room where we stayed. No watch. We called Alma and asked her to look in the car, but the result was the same – no watch found. We called the airport thinking I may have left my watch in the tray when I went through security.  Again, my watch was not found.

Where was my watch? It was lost and I learned today (May 22, 2018) that it actually had been in Alma’s car for all these months, completely hidden under the front seat.  The car had been cleaned several times since August without discovering the watch. In April, when the car was driven over a bumpy road, Alma’s sun glasses fell on the floor underneath the seat and when she reached for them, she pulled out the watch!

The problem was she had completely forgotten that I had even borrowed their car and her immediate action was to send  messages to those she knew who had recently used her car.  The response every time was “I didn’t lose a watch.” When the watch was found, the battery was dead so they thought that it may have been there for a long time, maybe even before they purchased the vehicle.  Could it belong to the original owner?

Here’s the amazing part of this story: Alma’s husband, Keith didn’t even know I had lost my watch on my visit. He took the watch, replaced the battery and began wearing it on occasion. For me, any hope of finding the watch was long gone, even when they texted and said they were coming for a visit. They arrived at our house and we enjoyed catching up in conversation over a delicious meal. I had no thought about the watch until I saw it on Keith’s arm. I felt a little awkward at first and did not want to interrupt the flow of conversation. How could I ask about the watch or where and when he had found it? Maybe I should just ask, “Where did you get such a nice watch?” Our conversation continued and out of nowhere, Keith lifted his arm to look at the watch and then said, “I have to change the subject: Lorne this watch is yours!”

Seriously! We were all shocked at the quick change in conversation and I realized how the Lord cares about the little details that concern us, especially regarding something that was lost. Keith said, “I just felt the Lord say, ‘This is Lorne’s watch.’” I realized that the Lord was using this circumstance to give Keith more confidence to follow the Lord when prompted. It confirmed to him that he could trust the still small voice of the Lord.

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Many times Keith doesn’t even wear a watch. He could have easily worn a different watch when he visited, or no watch at all. Was it just coincidence that he chose to wear the Boss watch for his visit to my house?

Here is what I realized from this whole thing: the Lord is interested in using every day situations to help us be more sensitive to His promptings.
What is most amazing about this story? It’s not as much about my lost watch being found as it is about a man being sensitive to know when the Lord is speaking to him and having a willingness to act on it. Do you have the confidence to follow the inner promptings from the Lord?

Reckless Love & The Cop Who Didn’t Shoot

Reckless Love & The Cop Who Didn’t Shoot

The news is filled with the shocking story of the Toronto van attack where 10 people have been killed. We seem to have become more accustomed to this sort of violence in Europe or America, but not Toronto, so close to home. We have family in Toronto and it is only hours from where we live!

After reading the article published at Maclean’s written by Scott Gilmore entitled: Toronto Van Attack: The Cop Who Didn’t Shoot, I couldn’t help but think of the Christian song: Reckless Love, since I have already written two blogs about this song. No doubt, the actions of the perpetrator were violently reckless but could the actions of the officer, Const. Ken Lam also be considered reckless? We have likely all see the video as he stands about 30 ft from the van with his gun pointed at the driver. Gilmore writes:

What was he thinking at that moment? He knew this was the van that had reportedly just mowed down more than two dozen people. He could see the smashed grill. He could see the man behind the wheel. Did he think it was about to explode? Did he expect the driver to jump out shooting? The cop holds his fire.

Screen Shot 2018-04-25 at 7.26.58 AM

It is obvious the driver of the van is looking to be shot, because he pretends more than once, to pull a gun from his pocket. Most of us would probably agree that this man deserved to be shot and killed, after his completely reckless behaviour. Ten innocent people are dead and another 15 injured, but the officer didn’t shoot. Another article said: This officer clearly had de-escalation in mind.

I wonder if some police officers think the actions of Const. Lam might have been a little reckless. Did he realize what the consequences of not shooting could be at that precise moment? After all, there wasn’t much time to think this through.  Only thirty-seven seconds elapsed from when the driver emerged from his van, to when he was face-down on the sidewalk. Not one shot was fired!

Const. Lam is rightly being praised because he didn’t shoot. The shooting of the driver was the expected outcome; after all, it is usually how the story ends.

Gilmore concludes his article this way:

We kill each other out of hate, or fear, or ignorance, or duty. Sadly, we understand this instinct well. This is the dark side of humanity. And rightly, we are mesmerized by the horror of it.

But there is light inside us too. We also possess the instinct to keep each other alive. This part of us can be more difficult to understand. But it deserves our devotion much more than the act of killing does. These moments of humanity are not uncommon, but they are precious. It would be good if we could remember that about Toronto, remember the cop who didn’t shoot.

Maybe it was the light inside Const. Ken Lam that made the difference and didn’t take that drivers life, even though we might agree he deserved to die. The driver of the van exhibited completely reckless actions motivated by hate. It can easily be argued the cop may have also acted recklessly, motivated by the light inside him, and in the opposite fashion with such a positive result.

The song Reckless Love says in regards to God’s love:

I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, still you give yourself away. Oh the overwhelming, never ending, reckless love of God.

Many people are not able to wrap their heads around the thought that God can love humanity recklessly despite how depraved our behaviour is at times. Doesn’t God reach out to us to give us what we do not deserve? Didn’t this cop demonstrate “Reckless Love” (mercy) in a most beautiful way?