In response to my previous post Anonymous writes: "What do you think of the question: Why has God killed so many thousands of people in this tragedy?" So, you asked what I thought and I give you my response.
God does not kill people. He has a plan that is bigger than anything we can see or imagine. "Bad" things have been happening and will continue to happen because this world is fallen from sin. There is suffering and pain and death because of sin. Man is born into sin. Blessings and growth come from every tradgedy. I heard a pastor once tell a wonderful story about how his father used to get a truck full of manure and spread it all over the yard. The neighbors would look at that yard and think, "Look at that disaster! They've messed up their yard." But in a few weeks grass greener than any other yard on the street would shoot up through that mess. Wonderful things come out of junk and hurt and suffering and death. Things of importance, miracles, tradgedies, ect. are always occuring. God is always doing big things... Its part of life that people are born and that people die. Its unstoppable and its only a matter of time until everyone comes to this "fate." Death for me however, is only the beginning of life... Anonymous, you may see things differently, but your perspective will be based on where you currently are spiritually. On the news this is called a "natural disaster." But people die of "natural causes" everyday. Yes, this "natural cause" may have killed more people... but look at the lives that were spared. I am aquainted with death, for those that do not know, as I have had 4 dear friends die in the past few years as well as family members die in my life time. I do not pretend to take death for others lightly, but for myself I know that I live only because God wills me to live and when I die it will be a blessing that maybe no one else will understand, thus I believe that the will of the Father will always be greater than our own, no matter who you are, where you come from, or what you believe... but I eagerly await the miracles, blessings and the life that does come from this. For some questions, no matter what response I give to you, people may never understand. But I stand firm in my convictions and in my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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3 Comments:
Sorry about the "anonymous post," that was me. I always forget to put my name on the bottom of these things. Joshua Kerr here. :-)
If God is sovereign, and his providential ordering extends to all things great and small, then why do you say he doesn't kill people? "Is it not," as the author of Lamentations says, "from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?" (3:37-38) Or when God says, at least according to Isaiah the prophet, that he is "The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity” (45:7), does that not also include tsunamis, and death? If it is the Lord who gives life, is it not also the Lord who takes it away? (Job 1:21) Amos asks rhetorically, "Does evil befall a city, unless the Lord has done it?" (3:6)
I think it is potentially misleading to blame sin (or rather to blame sinful people -- surely you do not mean that "sin" as an idea or concept is responsible for all misfortune, but rather sin as it actually exists, that is, sin as it is lived out by sinful people) for all the misfortune that happens. Sure, we, as sinful people, are responsible for much of what happens in the world. But is God not responsible, too, for everything that happens in his creation? "The mind of man," depraved as it may be, "plans his way," according to the author of Proverbs, "but the Lord directs his steps," ultimately (16:9).
You say that death is, for you, only the beginning of life (and of course my view is based on where I am spiritually, as is yours). Would you say that the same is true of every one of the thousands who died in the tragedies that we have been witnessing? If Christ were to take you, he would be taking you into a greater life with him. Can the same be said of all who have died? And if not, what of them?
I know that people die every day, and this is not even the most egregious tragedy that we could point to as currently happening. But part of the significance of things like this is that they bring to our consciousness what is often otherwise overlooked. There are times in our lives when we're forced to face the sides of life that are harder to deal with. And I think at times like that it's a healthy thing to ask hard questions. Perhaps you will allow that such questions hold a little more merit than you appeared to orignally give them? They reflect an engagement with the world, and a compassion for those around, that makes tragedies such as this one (and the ones that happen each day) effect one profoundly. We need more of that engagement in the world, rather than less of it. That sort of questioning should be encouraged, not discouraged. If I ask, "Where is God in this?", God will be faithful and show himself to me. If I lack wisdom, he will give freely. But I think it's ok to ask. I think it's healthy to wrestle.
And I certainly don't want you to doubt your conviction, or your faith in Christ. :-)
Lacking and seeking are two different things. Simply not having something is not enough. You have to seek wisdom, ask for it. If you go through life saying "Oh, I don't have wisdom, but God will give it to me." If you really have that much faith, then it might work that way. It's like money, does a person just sit there and money comes to him? No. He has to work, and earn that money. Actively seek wisdom, read Proverbs and James, pray for God to give you the wisdom that He wants you to have. If you lack wisdom, seek it, and it will be given freely. :)
Josh here again. Here's something that my friend said today:
I saw a dog get hit by a car yesterday. My perceptions of the world were/are shattered. It's one thing for a human to be severely injured. They can usually do something about it or at the very least express their pain in one way or another. I'd even go as far as to introduce the sadistic notion that they've more than likely done wrong in their lives and may only be receiving, on some level, retribution... but a dog is entirely innocent. He is completely unable of being responsible for his actions; even if he should have ever committed behaviors that we may perceive as being "bad." Moreover, when he was hit, he was unable to seek relief or to express his pain. All he could do was use his back legs, the only portion of his body that appeared to not be broken, to push himself on with his face scrapping against the pavement. My heart imploded when I saw the accident. I just don't understand... How could such a horrible thing fit into ANY grand scheme??::shrug:: Maybe you could give him something other than the silence I offered. If God is good, where can we see his goodness (or, if you prefer, see God) in his ordination of that event?
Or I've heard it said once, imagine a deer, killed in a forest fire. No one knew of its existence either before or afterwards, save God himself. Where is the goodness in its miserable pain and slow death?
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