Why God?
The
Collective Conscience of a Nation Calls Out!
The question expressed in the title may
be the most frequent inquiry in all Christendom. With the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook
Elementary School, the collective conscience of our nation is asking, why?
Most people who believe in a spiritual being in charge of all are
attaching God to that question. Is there
a Biblical answer to these questions? I
am not a theologian; I am a former schoolteacher. But every Christian has a theology and to be
viable it must work in good and bad times.
Before delving into this issue I must say that the finite can never
totally understand the infinite.
Therefore, there will always be some unanswered questions in the fine
print. But I do believe there are broad
biblical answers that can get us through such a horrific event with our faith intact.
God
is Sovereign and Man is Free
If
there is a God, how could he allow something like this to happen? This
question has echoed in the hearts of many across this land. It calls into question the very existence of
God. Not to mention that it implies that
God may not care, and if He does, He is not able to do anything about it. As Christians we must be able to answer this
question.
God is sovereign and man is
free. This is one of the great mysteries
of the Christian faith. God is able to work His sovereign will and yet still give man his free will. Try and wrap that one around your earthly mind. How does it work
in everyday life? How did it play out on
that December day in that New England town?
I don’t know. And I am in good
company, as the Church has been discussing it for centuries without a clear-cut
consensus. Maybe what God has not
revealed plainly (in the Bible), we should not try to explain totally. Whatever the case may be, there is a God who
rules in the affairs of men, but has chosen to give man a measure of freedom in
that process. This may be the point of
wisdom that can explain why we have such unthinkable evil in a world governed
by a good God.
There is a case in point in the
Bible that deals with hatred and murder.
Then
the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
7 If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?
And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for
you, but you must master it.” 8 Cain told Abel his brother. And it
came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his
brother and killed him. (Genesis 4:6-8)
Clearly,
it was not God’s intent or desire for Cain to commit murder. God reasonably explained to Cain the right
and wrong response to anger and the corresponding blessing or consequence. Cain used his freedom to ignore a God who is
only seeking his well being and murdered Abel.
Evil is perpetrated in this world when we disregard the kind and just
intentions of God. At this point you
might be thinking would it not have been
better if God had made us without the ability to hate? But if He had, God also
would have had to create us without the ability to love. Without evil, good has
no meaning. You can’t have one without
the other. God did not create us to be
puppets.
Justice Prevails
You might also be thinking that I
have described a God that has His hands tied behind His back. Not so.
God sees the end from the beginning with an eternal perspective. We see only a small clip of the movie with a
temporal perception. God has a
plan. We live in a fallen world where
evil is pervasive. There is a titanic struggle
between good and evil. Yes, at times it
does seem like evil triumphs over good, but make no mistake about it, there is
a God who rules and reigns in this universe.
The end has already been decided.
But
for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral
persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in
the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
(Revelations 21:8 NASB)
The
gunman did not avoid responsibility by killing himself. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished... (Nahum 1:3 NASB). God always has the last say. Ultimately justice prevails and God will
reward good and punish all evil.
Acts
of Unimaginable Kindness
“Well and good on judgment day!” you
might say. What about the anger we feel now
when we look at the pictures of those innocent children taken from us? Or how do we deal now with the frustration
we feel because we can’t do anything to lessen the pain of the parents,
relatives, and friends of those slain? Again, let’s look to God’s Word for the
answer:
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome
evil with good. (Romans 12:21 NASB)
On that fateful early December morning,
Adam Lanza showed no mercy and perpetrated an unthinkable act of rage on the weakest
and most vulnerable among us and on those who cared for them. Maybe this week we should target the weakest
and most vulnerable among us with unimaginable acts of kindness and mercy. If we do, good may start to overcome evil,
and our healing may begin.
Ken
Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM Publishing
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/
No comments :
Post a Comment