We will not soon forget the horrific events of December
14, 2012. What started out as a typical
day ended anything but typical for the residents of Newton, CT and the world. I have no personal connection to any of the
families who have been ripped apart nor can I even begin to imagine the depth
of their grief. I only know my heart and
throat felt like someone was strangling me as I went to bed that night. My grief became my enemy when trying to
breathe and my mind raced trying to make sense of how anyone could do this
horrible act against innocent children and those who tried to protect them.
Earlier that evening this question was posed, “Where was
God?” Even Jesus voiced this question of
his father, God. I’ve thought a lot about that question today. I didn’t know what to say. How would you have answered? If you were one of those parents, would you
have wanted a pat cliché answer? Is there an answer?
Theological reasoning’s to this question have been explored
and debated for centuries. This debate
does not however mean God was absent.
I do know this; God was in the same place when his son was
murdered. He knows what it is to grieve
over a loved one. To give and love and
be denied those in return. He finds no
pleasure in witnessing the indescribable acts his creation does to one
another. Nor does he find pleasure in
letting go of someone who chooses to reject him.[i] He has long been denied a place in our lives
except when it is beneficial to us. Nor,
as has been suggested, did the gate for these indescribable acts swing open the
day prayer was taken out of school. The
groundwork was laid long before then and has been built upon as our tolerance
to truth and violence weakens.
It strikes me no one is questioning the ‘where and why’
of evil (aka Satan) that day? Satan is
not a harmless once-a-year-Halloween-appearance person wearing a red suit with
horns and a pitchfork. He is a force who
knows his time is limited and will steal, kill, and destroy anything or anyone
who stands in his way including innocent children. [ii]
Everything in life is not a clear black and white issue nor
are the answers to life’s difficult questions.
Gun control is not be the solution in preventing these types of
horrendous acts because morality and values cannot be legislated. Those bent on destruction will find a avenue
to accomplish it.
Being a child of God does not relieve us of pain. We live in a world in which our actions affect
others, good and bad. But these are
truths we can hold onto when everything else, including God, doesn’t make
sense:
·
God is still God and there is no other equal to
him or above him. We can trust him even
though we don’t understand. Isaiah 40; 2
Peter 3:9; Isaiah 55:8-9
·
He hasn’t abandoned you or me: “No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will
come to you.” John 14:18; 2 Chronicles
16:9
·
We can have His peace in the midst of pain: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind
and heart. And the peace I give is a
gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled
or afraid…I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on
earth you will have many trials and sorrows.
But take heart, because I have overcome the world. (John 14:27; John
16:33)
Where was God that day?
Grieving alongside those whose hearts were ripped out. Holding and giving them his strength to
continue until he takes us to a home where there will be no more sorry, pain or
hurt…ever again.
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