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| Rachel Joy Scott (1981-1999) |
The Columbine High School
Massacre took place on April 20, 1999 in Columbine, in the State of Colorado in
United States. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, shot and
killed 12 students and one teacher and then took their own lives. It was a
heart breaking tragedy that shocked the entire nation.
Rachel Joy Scott was one of the
murdered victims in the shooting. She was the first one to get shot by the
shooters Eric and Dylan.
Rachel Joy Scott was
a committed Christian. She was 17 at the time of her death. She was open
about her faith in Christ and unashamedly witnessed in her school campus about
Jesus. Her family said that she was not a super spiritual person. She had her
struggles. She was like any other teenager but loved God greatly. Her diary
revealed many things about her commitment to Jesus and her love for Him. Below
are few of the excerpts and quotes from Rachel’s diary that her family shared
with the public.
On April 20, 1998, Rachel
wrote in her diary
, “I lost all my friends at school, now that I’ve begun to ‘walk
my talk’, they make fun of me.
I don’t even know what I have
done. I don’t really have to say anything and they turn from me.”
She continues, “I have no
more personal friends at school, But you know what? I am not going to apologize
for speaking the name of Jesus. I am not going to justify my faith to them, and
I am not going to hide the light that God has put into me. If I have to
sacrifice everything I will. I will take it. If my friends have
to become my enemies for me to be with my best friend Jesus, then that’s fine
with me. I always knew being a Christian is having enemies, but I never
thought that my ‘friends’ were going to be those enemies.
She states also, “If I have
to give up everything, I will”.
Somehow Rachel had a feeling
that she was going to die young. Less than a year before the shooting, Rachel had
written in her diary, “This is my last year, Lord. I have gotten what I
can. Thank you.”
Some more excerpts from her
diary:
Rachel wrote addressing to God,
“I want you to use me to reach the unreached.” The diary was in
her backpack the day she was shot. “God is going to use me to reach the
young people, I don’t know how, I don’t know when.” “I have this
theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it
will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a
little kindness can go.”
Three weeks before the shooting
she had witnessed to the shooters Eric and Dylan. Eric and Dylan were the odd
pair out and students mostly stayed away from them. But Rachel tried to talk to
them and encouraged them to leave their hateful feelings and turn to Jesus. But
they hated her more and even made homemade videotapes mocking her Christian
faith.
On the day of the shooting,
Rachel was outside the school building having her lunch. Eric and Dylan entered
the school campus and first shot Rachel. They shot her in the leg twice and
shot her again in the back. They left but returned seconds later. On noticing
that she was still alive, Eric walked over to Rachel and grabbed her by the
hair, lifted up her head and asked her “Do you still believe in your God?”
Her response was unflinching and unwavering,
”You Know I Do”, and that provocated Eric and he
responded “Then go be with Him,” and shot her in the head.
Millions of people have come to
know Jesus in her death. It stirred and impacted millions of young and the old
and solidified their devotion and passion for Jesus.
When Rachel was 13, she wrote:
“These hands belong to Rachel Joy Scott and will some day touch millions
of people’s hearts.”
In the back of her diary she wrote in big, large letters: “I won’t be
labeled as average.”
What I learned about Rachel and
her last moments, impacted me greatly that day. It forced me to ask myself,
“Would I have said Yes?”. It brought tears to my eyes and stirred my heart
deeply. Her life and death added to my resolve to stay committed to Jesus
and to live passionately for God.
“Would I have said yes?” I pray, I would.
Let’s resolve that we won’t be average in our devotion and love for the
Lord. Sometimes, it is living for Jesus and taking a stand that will cost
us everything. But isn’t He worth it all.
As our dear Apostle Paul said:
For to me, to live is Christ,
and to die is gain. [Philippians 1:21]
Yet indeed I also count all
things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I
may gain Christ. [Philippians 3:8]
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