Theodicy

Here I am early on Sunday morning. The sunrise is gorgeous. It is going to be a beautifully warm day. The birdsong is lovely, and the air smells of spring. Soon I'll be in church and singing along with people who love God. I think to myself, "This is the way it's supposed to be."

Yet thoughts of the events of the past week, especially the massacre at Virginia Tech, jars my reverie. Senseless, horrific violence, death and tragedy. "This is not the way it's supposed to be."

Confronted with pain, suffering, evil, I've often asked why. Usually, there is no answer. But I know that without faith in God who suffered and died on the cross for my sin, I would have no rationale for life either. The innate ability to say "This is the way it's supposed to be" or "This is not the way it's supposed to be" tells me that there is Someone out there who informs our sensibilities. Someone who is both good and powerful, and could have prevented the massacre but didn't, choosing instead to walk with us through our pain. Who can say what is good or evil among all the experiences of life? Only God. Who holds life and death in his hands? Only God. What can we grasp at when all else is incomprehensible? Only God.

It is senseless and painful. All 32 victims were lives created in the image of God - and hard as it is to say, so was the killer. I have to cling to God and realize that it is at such a time as this that a relationship with Jesus is vital. This is not a crutch. It is the only thing that anchors life. The only other thing I can do is pray for the hurting family members left behind. May God pour out his compassion on them, and draw around them the people and help they need.

In a prayer meeting yesterday, our senior pastor shared from Luke 13:1-9. In light of Virginia Tech, this passage is both appropriate and challenging. It tells us that there really is no explanation, but only the reality that their time had come just as it may come for each one of us with equal suddeness. The passage urgently tells us to turn from sin and trust in Jesus, and to get the message out to the people around us. With the heart-wrenching events of the past week, nothing could be more urgent.