It’s a waking
nightmare!
I’ve now lost count
of the numbers of senseless acts of gun violence that’s happened to us this
year, 2018.
It’s happened again
– one dozen lives taken, plus the shooter, a total of 13, and for no
reason.
And again, people,
non-Christians especially, are asking that age-old question.
Where is GOD? Why
does He allow such atrocities to happen? How can GOD be good and not protect
the innocent?
Places of worship
and employment, schools, shopping malls and hospitals, young children and the
elderly – nowhere and no one is safe.
Good, Christian
people can be counted among the victims. People who love JESUS, serve
faithfully, give generously to aid the suffering, pray for others and do all that
they know to live the way believers should.
So why has this suffering come to us?
WHERE IS GOD?
Why does GOD not intervene when humans are about to make disastrous choices?
GOD created the human race in His image, including the
ability to make choices. He gave us free will.
As we have ability to
choose, we also have a responsibility to
choose wisely.
The world is in its current sinful state due to the choices
made by our first parents, Adam and Eve.
GOD’s righteous judgement against them
for breaking His law was spiritual death and a life full of sorrow and
hardship (see Genesis
3.)
All of mankind inherited the same judgement because of the
fall of Eden of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
However, at the same time He pronounced His judgement, GOD offered
unlimited grace and opened the door to our eventual restoration and reconciliation
back to Him. He promised that a “Seed, or Offspring” of Eve’s would come and crush
the author of our sin, Satan.
“I will put enmity
between you and the woman and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise
your head and you shall bruise His heel” Genesis 3:15.
This is the first promise of the Messiah, JESUS CHRIST, the
very first great act of GOD’s grace after our tragic act of rebellion.
From this point on, Scripture keeps repeating there’s but one
way we could choose what is good while we’re in our current sinful state.
How can mankind in our sin nature use free will to choose what is good?
Believe that CHRIST is our Savior and accept Him into our
lives as such.
We give up our old nature inherited from our first parents
and take on the new nature of a child of GOD:
But to all who
received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of
God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of
man, but of God. John 1:12-13
This life-altering decision is our access to the power of
the Holy Spirit and our true rebirth. The Holy Spirit works in and through our
will to make us a new creation – to be like GOD Himself, having true
righteousness and holiness.
You were taught to put
away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts,
and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with
the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness
and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24
All people belong to GOD (Psalm
24:1) but only believers in CHRIST have the right to be His
children (John
1:12.)
All people have free will to act out their motives and
desires and all are held to account for their choices.
However, we who belong to GOD and have the Spirit of GOD
living in us are less likely to make choices that bring chaos and pain on
themselves and others.
“You are not in the
flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who
does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in
you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of
righteousness.” Romans 8:9-10
We will never completely understand how, and may not even
want to believe it in times like these, but the answer to “where is GOD” is
this:
GOD is still with us, still Almighty, still loving and kind and faithful,
still great and wonderful. GOD still grieves with us and will never nor
forsake us. GOD still cares for us; He is not far removed from our pain and
our loss.
GOD hasn’t changed. He still allows us our free will – the freedom to
choose.
Conclusion
For those whose
loved ones are suddenly and tragically taken, no answer as to “why” is good
enough to lessen their immediate suffering.
A mother whose son
was a victim of the most recent gun tragedy cried out in her anguish that she
wants to no “prayers and good thoughts” coming to her; she wants only gun
control. My heart bleeds for her obvious torment.
But, while I too hate
guns and the pain that this instrument of death has been causing the entire
Nation in recent times, I know that we need something more than gun control.
We need people to have changed hearts.
With or without easy
access to guns, the human heart that hasn't undergone regeneration by the Holy
Spirit remains evil and wicked and can make only like choices. (Genesis
6:5; Matthew
15:19)
Over and over, the New Testament Scriptures calls for sinners
to “repent” and “believe”: (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Acts 3:19).
Every call to repent is a call to use our free will to choose
good over evil. It’s a call that GOD promises to answer, every time.
GOD alone is our salvation.
Prayer and Thanksgiving: Holy Father, YOU are the
only wise GOD. We thank You for unlimited grace through CHRIST JESUS our
Messiah, LORD and Savior. You are the GOD of all comfort, extend comfort to all
who have been touched by the evil of gun violence. We ask that You give our
leaders wisdom for an end to this criminal activity, and that You give our
Nation peace, Your peace that is beyond understanding. Open minds to the truth that true freedom is
buried in CHRIST JESUS. Remind believers that our worldly suffering is small
compared to the glory that awaits us in eternity with YOU. Father, we admit
that these are hard truths to live out so we ask for Your strength daily so we
don’t lose faith and give in to fear. All glory, all honor, and all praise be to
YOUR NAME. All things in JESUS name. Amen!
Always by God’s Word and prayer,
Cecile
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