Revelation 21:3-5
Elie Wiesel wrote this:
“Then came the march past the victims. The two men were no longer alive. Their tongues were hanging out,swollen and bluish. But the third rope was still moving: the child, too light, was still breathing...And so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering between life and death, writhing before our eyes.And we were forced to look at him at close range. He was still alive when I passed him. His tongue was still red, his eyes not yet extinguished.Behind me, I heard the same man asking:"For God's sake, where is God?"And from within me, I heard a voice answer:"Where He is? This is where--hanging here from this gallows..." Any other answer would have been blasphemous.
In the video I posted above the mother of Krystle Campbell speaks to the press. In this video she makes the statement that none of it makes sense. She says that Krystle was a good person, hard worker, and everyone loved her.
Often, life does not seem to make sense. The innocent suffer and there seems to be no justice or end in sight. Not knowing what to do, many well meaning Christians, and even non Christians, break out old, tired and unhelpful platitudes. We have all heard them, "God just wanted another angel for His garden," or, "everything happens for a reason."
While it is true that there is a reason this awful tragedy happened and God does delight in reuniting with His sons and daughters, these do not quite scratch the itch. As the man in Wiesel's story said in the midst of the young boy suffering, "For God's sake, where is God?" Where is God in the middle of suffering? Does He just let us languish under the pain and absurdity of the universe we find ourselves in?
It is for this reason that many turn away from God. However, what would happen if, instead of turning away, we would turn toward how God deals with the suffering of the innocent. As followers of Christ we do not worship a God who is far off from our suffering. Quite the contrary, the writer of Hebrews reminds us that "we do not have a High Priest that is unable to empathize with us" (4:15).
On the cross, Jesus died for the sins we are guilty of, but He also died for all of the sins we are innocent victims of. In suffering on the cross, Jesus, the ultimately innocent one, suffers with us! Or as Wiesel says "Where He is? This is where--hanging here from this gallows..."
What is even better news, is that Christ does not just sympathise with our suffering, He transforms it. The Christian faith does not deny, ignore, or try to go around the issue of suffering. Instead, through the cross, we can conquer through it! In Christ's resurrection, death itself died. We, like Jesus, will still have to endure unfair suffering, the pain of that mother is real. Her hate of death is shared with God's hate of death. However, if we put our trust in Him, we can suffer with hope, we can mourn with hope, we can be a people of hope.
We can stand belligerently against the pain, suffering, and even death that touches our lives. We can stand against it because one day we will share in Christ's resurrection and ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
However, until that one fine day, we have an awesome privilege and responsibility. The privilege and responsibility of continuing Christ's ministry here on earth. Continuing it by hurting with those who hurt, and celebrating with those who are celebrating. All as a beautiful prelude to when Our Risen Lord returns and we can come into full relationship with Him as He will bring to completion what we have started in His name. Bring to completion the "making everything new!”
How can we 'make all things new' in our lives today?
Well put. An area where we all struggle at times, especially the last two days of national tragedy. When they ask "where is God", we need to be his representative wherever we can . . . .
ReplyDeleteThank you very much. You words are very kind!
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