As a country reeling from the violent tragedy of the Sandy Hook massacre of innocent first grade children, we have to pause and wonder what role does God play in this? Many Christians will claim that this act of violence was part of God’s plan but I do not believe that is so. I do not believe that the God I know and worship would ever see this as part of the plan. I do believe that every person involved in this tragedy was created and loved by God and that God did have a plan for every one of them.
But we have been created with Free Will. We make choices every day that move us toward God or away from God. We make choices that please God and frustrate or even anger God. And our choices do sometimes effect other people. This free will is not anything I would want to give up. I don’t want to be a puppet or a robot programmed by God to carry out a certain plan. But when we are given choices-bad things happen from the Garden of Eden disobedience to the shooting at Sandy Hook.
So where does God play a role in this? God reaches out with helpers or angels who comfort and bring healing in the midst of our bad choices. God shines a light in the darkness of the evil that results from our disobedience. God provides hope in even the most awful decisions that we make. We are a flawed, messy people that struggle through life each and every day. Somehow no matter how far we stray from God’s plan for us we are given the opportunity to return to a place of grace. Flora Slosson Wuellner wrote “Pain and sorrow are never wasted when given into God’s hands, and their transformation is far beyond our imaginings. The deepest comfort in our mourning is to now that God not only has compassion but actually feels our suffering with us.” In John 11, Mary and Martha confess their faith and express their frustration in Jesus because he did not intervene in the death of their brother Lazarus. If only… But Jesus responds by accepting their profound grief and joins them in it. I believe that again in this tragedy that Jesus joins us in our grief and horror and crys with us.
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