November 8, 2017
I admit to having many questions resulting from the tragedy at the church in Texas last Sunday. Each of these events produces its own kind of emotion, but somehow, the targeting of people in a Sunday worship service takes it to the extreme. I have reviewed my balance of trust in Creator God with my honest human questions and it has helped me affirm some guiding principles:
- God could have prevented the tragedy. He knows all things, has all power and has the final answer in everything. He is not the cause of evil, but He allows it for a while. He did not intervene to prevent this from happening, but He could have.
- Unresolved conflict eventually leads to human damage. When a relationship is broken and there is no “agree to disagree,” the result will be some form of heartbreaking action. There is always a better solution than the taking of a life.
- One cannot hurt an individual without damaging many others. The fallout of Sunday’s tragedy extends to family, community, the nation and the world.
- The Creator sets our time on Planet Earth. The location and circumstances of our death are often far different than what we anticipate. And what we consider a safe place is not necessarily so, because sin exists.
- We can always trust the Creator – even when life makes no sense to us. God does not need to answer all of our questions in order for us to trust Him.
- God is very present to His people who are directly affected by this human loss. He brings peace and hope because of the completed work of Savior Jesus in their lives.
- For the followers of Jesus who died, there was immediate joy in His presence. If their killer is also God’s child, and it is possible that he is because even Christians can drift far away from Him and commit horrible acts, he is with his victims and everyone has joy. It is difficult to explain that possibility – or even comprehend it – but we can have confidence in the Creator’s plan.
It is obvious that I do not have this all put together in a neat package. My honest questions still trouble me, but I have absolute trust in Creator God.
Pastor Bill Ehmann