As children are slaughtered by bombs falling in Gaza, the natural question is "does God care?"
As Christians, and other minorities, are forced from their homes with a path of destruction carved out through them, we all must ask "why does God let this happen?"
When we wake up to the news that one of the greatest comedians of our times has died - most likely by suicide - the belief that there is no joy, no God who cares seems almost reasonable.
On a more personal level when things are not working out the way you think they should, it's easy to wonder if God is really worth it.
And it is easy, seeing all the pain and the terrors in the world to grow numb. Numb to the pain. But numb also to the joy. Numb to the ugliness. But numb also to the beauty.
I was recently down at the river, the one near my house. It is a beautiful spot. The sunlight was warm through the leaves of the trees. The ducks swam in the water. A man fished on the bank while his children played around him. Music filled the air from a band performing near the play equipment.
It was beautiful.
And I didn't really notice it until I had left because I was too busy being upset and angry over everything else that was happening.
And I'm not saying we view the world through rose coloured glasses. I'm not saying that we pretend people are not capable of, are not doing, acts of horrible, horrible brutality.
But what I am saying is let's not view the world through grey coloured glasses. Let's not pretend that there is no beauty.
Let's not forget that people are still falling in love and committing to love each other for the rest of their lives.
Let's not forget that couple who, after more than 60 years of marriage, died together.
Let's not forget the sound of a child laughing.
Let's not forget the warmth of sunlight, the refreshment of rain, the beauty of sunset.
And when I remember those things, I remember something else: God does care. The fact that there is still beauty, still compassion, still joy when everything is telling us how terrible the world is shows us that.
And sure, it doesn't make the pain easier. It doesn't make the suffering less. I don't want to say it does.
I read Lamentations on Sunday. I'd advise you go do the same.
While I was reading Lamentations, I cam across words that were very, very familiar. Words that I've seen printed on mugs, on paintings, in cards. Words that people use almost like a catchphrase.
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. ~ Lamentations 3: 22 - 23They're familiar, aren't they? Comfortable?
Except this time, they shocked me. They leapt out of the page at me. They seized me by the throat and instead I look at them. I read them. I understood what they were saying.
And it wasn't because of what is going on the world now.
It was because of what was going on in the book around them.
The context made them shocking and wonderful. It made them discordant and beautiful. It made them a reminder of God's faithfulness in the realest sense.
And what was the context?
Jerusalem, the poets home, was in ruins.
Many of his friends and family were enslaved by the Babylonians.
People were so desperate for food they were cooking and eating their own children.
The streets were littered with the corpses of people, cut down by the sword - people both young and old. The enemy had been indiscriminate.
The poet is acknowledging that it is God who has afflicted Israel. After all, He is in control. It is God who has decreed this horror befall them.
Yet in the midst of this, in the midst of this, he says:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is His faithfulness;
His mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself "the Lord is my inheritance;
therefore I will hope in Him!"
The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for Him.
So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord.
And it is good to submit at an early age
to the yoke of His discipline.
Let them sit alone in silence
beneath the Lord's demands.
Let them lie face down in the dust,
for there maybe hope at last.
Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them
and accept the insults of their enemies.
For no one is abandoned
by the Lord forever.
Though He brings grief, He also shows compassion
because of the greatness of His unfailing love.
For He does not enjoy hurting people
or causing them sorrow.And the question on the table is surely this is foolishness? The poet himself has said God has abandoned him, has brought these sorrows on him. So why does he cling to the belief that God is faithful? That God is loving? That God will be compassionate?
And yet, his belief not based purely on his need to believe it - though that is a factor.
It is based on the history of his people. On the way God grew them from one man with no sons to an entire nation - in keeping with His promises to that one man. On the way God rescued them from slavery in Egypt. On the way He brought them into their own land and made them powerful. On the way He sent someone to rescue them every single time they were in trouble.
And history shows his faith was justified.
70 years after the Babylonians invaded them, leaving them for dead or as slaves, another king - one prophecied by name - came along and returned them to their home.
And not only did he return them, but he gave them protection. Not only did he protect them, he assisted them with rebuilding their temple and Jerusalem.
God had punished His people - but He had not abandoned them. He had not ceased caring.
The poet of Lamentations was absolutely right when he continued to trust in God.
And this doesn't necessarily answer all our questions. It doesn't really answer the question of "why?". But the why isn't really what matters, is it?
What matters is that we realize that God does care.
That God weeps for the pain and suffering just as much as we do. More, even, for He has nurtured each and every one of the people involved.
He formed them in the womb. He mapped out their lives.
He raised them. He nurtured them. He loves them.
Did He know this was going to happen? Yes.
Is He in control of what is happening? Yes.
Does He care about what is happening? That is absolutely one big, fat, definite YES!
And how can we know? How can we trust this? How can we have faith in this?
There is still beauty - the ugliness has not yet swallowed it up.
There is still freedom - the oppression has not yet stripped it away.
There is still love - the hatred has not yet crushed it.
There is still compassion - the cruelty has not yet sent it away.
There is still us - we can do something. We can bring relief to the suffering. We can pressure governments to do something. We can search for the truth and make it known.
But, and far more importantly, God has proven in the most dramatic way that He cares about us. That He cares that we are lost and suffering and trapped.
He sent His son to rescue us.
And this is something grounded in history (a discussion for another time), not just a vague mumbo jumbo thing from the mists of time.
So, we can have faith that God is there and God cares even when horrible things happen, because history shows He is and He does.
We can have faith because He is still present today.
We can hold onto the thought that "the faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning."
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