Tragedy
I have been going through my books for the last hour or so trying to find some witty comment to post or some moving quote that might shed light on the events which transpired today in Blacksburg, Virginia. But the truth is there really isn’t anything. Why do people do these things? What drives a 24 year old man to senselessly murder 32 people? I think our first reaction as Christians is to say things like, “well, I’m sure God has a good reason for letting this happen” or “everything happens for a reason.” I also think those statements speak to a profound ignorance on our part. I do not believe these things are necessarily or theologically wrong to say, but I believe they are cop outs, ways that we can avoid difficult conversations. When the parents, friends, siblings and classmates of the 32 who died ask us why I think it is ok to say “I don’t know.” I think the only one who can answer that question is God and I think they need to ask Him.
I do believe that all things happen for a reason and that they are allowed/ordained by God. But I think when things like the shootings at Virginia Tech happen, or any time a person takes another person’s life for that matter, God is profoundly saddened by the state of humanity. It is a daily reminder of the brokenness of this world. I recently finished the book Long Way Gone (and highly, highly recommend it) and the stories Ishmael Beah tells of his days as a boy soldier in Sierra Leone are heart wrenching. It is difficult to read because you wonder how people can do the things he talks about to each other. The senseless killing and violence that has become so much the norm in many parts of the world. I would like to say that there is some easy, happy, “Jesus” answer to this question but I think that the best we can do in this world is to ask the question. I think by asking God why is part of the human experience, part of understanding our relationship with God. The end of the book of Job cumulates with the final conversation between God and Job. God finishes with a long stretch of images of the things He can do that Job can’t even fathom, taming the Leviathan, mastering the behemoth, etc. Job relents by saying, “you know what God? You’re right, You are God and I am Job, your servant.” And with that, God smiles on Job and replaces his many trials with many, many more blessings and gives Job a long and fruitful remainder of days.
