Responding When Tragedy strikes May 21, 2013

Closing the doors to the office and I took a few moments to gather my thoughts and ask the Spirit to move in my heart, and to search His word for clarity.  There have been a number of tragedies recently, foremost on our minds is the case involving Tim Bosma.  Other recent events expose us to the brokenness in our world: the tornado in Oklahoma City, the warehouse collapse in Bangladesh, the Boston marathon incident and I am sure there are many, many more.   One thing that became crystal clear to me was there are no simple answers.  And it may be most prudent to show wisdom by remaining silent in these tough situations.  It seems to me that in times of tragedy it is more appropriate to ask questions than it is to provide answers.  Some questions that come to mind are: whom do we permit these tragedies to serve? Will we trust Him as a God who does only what is right?  Will we accept His plan for our lives? These are not easy questions but they do provide us with opportunity to discuss our faith, our doubts, and what that means for how we live today. 

 I read a devotional this morning talking about two worlds at work in our everyday lives: the worlds of power and love. It was an interesting to consider the author’s perspective of how these two contrasting worlds also intersect.  It stated: “Any exercise of power apart from love leads to brutality and evil; but any claim to love that does not lead to using that power for the good of others is mere sentimentality and emotion… I think the Reign of God includes both love and power in a lovely dance… It is a beautiful combination of both authority and vulnerability.”  (adapted from “Jesus’ Plan for a New World”)  We may have no answers to the tragedies that surround us but we can choose how we respond.  I pray that we respond in love, simply to comfort with the comfort we’ve received, and to continually set our hearts on God.  This is the hope we have for our students and their families; in Christ alone our hope is found.