How many times have we heard the expression “Except by the grace of God….”

That thought comes to mind as we see and read about the aftermath of the Dylan Roof mass murder trial and sentence and the grief expressed by the families, friends and church members.

In this reference it simply means, hey that could have been me and my friends who were gunned down in such senseless and mad-man fashion.

We are hundreds of miles away from Charleston, S.C., but as a nation we must feel the pain of those victims’ families. Nothing they did or didn’t do caused them to die so needlessly. Every community, large and small, should share in this tragedy. We should all own some of the misery that this church family and this community will know for many years to come.

As good things connect and bind us, so should the evil that we must confront on a daily basis that should cause us to unite against the dark side. A brotherhood of sorts should emerge from such an event that supercedes politics and petty differences.

This case is just one of many we have come to know that epitomizes an expression of hate.

Following this horrendous attack that left nine people dead, many of us probably sat in our own pews in our own churches and tried to imagine such tragedy befalling us. And probably in those deep, silent thoughts we asked ourselves, “Who will be next? When will it happen again? Is there anything we can do to stop such madness?

There is some very sad irony in the realization that this massacre occurred in a place where we so often seek safe haven and refuge from the evil in our world … a place where we pray for deliverance and safe keeping from those forces that would destroy us.

We have learned in recent years that there is no absolute defense against terrorists. Anyone with a malignant mind and dark soul who is bent on delivering carnage for whatever reason — well they can find a way to make it happen.

And when it’s all said and done, there really is no solace in the death sentence for this terrorist or others like him because he nor they have any respect for life, neither theirs or others, which means the concept of his punishment being a detriment is likely little more than a theory.

Let us not embrace any false sense of security that this will not happen to us. But let us do embrace, even from afar, those whose lives will never be the same again.