Rant - Where is God when Tragedy Strikes Part 1
How would you answer this real life Job?
"I'm sorry, but I have to rant a bit. I have no other appropriate outlet to do this but this forum of people who will (hopefully) understand somewhat.
Last week, my uncle and his family were vacationing in Hawaii. While swimming in the ocean, a large wave crashed over him, knocked him to the ocean floor, and broke his neck. Thankfully, his son was able to rescue him, and he is now hospitalized, in very serious condition. My uncle isn't well-off (this trip was a real treat for them), works in construction, and will likely never be able to work again.
We've discussed on this forum the issues of theodicy and God's sovereignty and control before. They're difficult issues with no real resolution. But this week I came across a prayer inspired by Mark 4. "Even the wind and waves obey You, O God." As I read this, I confess that I thought to myself, WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP. I will not, I CANNOT pray this.
This is the entire reason why ideas like open theism and the Oord-type "God can't" theology even exist - because theologians are attempting to provide an explanation for why our world looks very much like one where God doesn't control much of anything at all. I just don't see a world where much is controlled at all. Two people in my hometown died yesterday from trees falling on their cars in a violent windstorm. Did God give a damn? Could He have even stopped this if He wanted to? Wouldn't it just be more honest to acknowledge the possibility that there may simply be no God at all, or that we have just gotten Him wrong, and He really doesn't give a damn about our "little problems" like crippling injury and pain? There is nothing good to come out of this injury to my uncle who has already suffered enough in this life - nothing, and I reject any theology that suggests otherwise. If you try to give me some Joni Eareckson Tada platitude BS, I'm going to scream.
I'm pissed off at God, and I cannot pray and praise His majesty and glory right now. I apologize for my harsh words, but as I said, this is one of the few places I can really be honest about what I am thinking. Please understand that I am hurting deeply, and cannot make sense of any of this." - From a FB Friend
------------------------------------------
My Answer:
Completely agree with you.
Job taught us that, if you make appeal to God’s Sovereignty as a way to abdicate God from all responsibility and put it all on man, you are absolutely doing it wrong and approaching it wrong.
9 Who among all these does not know That the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? [Job 12:9-10]
----
And you know that? He agreed.
- He did not put a barrier to keep the serpent out.
- He did not cover the pit for man to fall in.
As a CEO of a company, the buck stops with you. Yes you underlings have some responsibility, but the CEO is ultimately responsible. Job told God just like many have said, You ultimately caused all of this to happen. You caused suffering of millions, perhaps billions of people who had nothing to do with the first failure. You allow the Hacker in. We don't deserve to die (of course we all know that we do deserve to die). You do.
And you know what. He agreed. Again. That is why the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world before the first effect of sin, before the first murder.
So many tragedies in this world: People drowning in a flood, women, children killed, men of Canaan slaughtered, Pharaoh and all the first born of Egypt killed. All bad... yes... but that is NOTHING compared to the death of the soul.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of babies die via still birth, or intra-uterine fetal death. Do you know how many humans have died like this? Why did not God stop it?
Even if there wasn't a Noah's flood, nor Israel killing, Humans still died.
The real issue is death of the soul. The real issue is DEATH that Adam caused to have entered.
God is like Christ. He was slain BEFORE the foundation of this world, because a single human died before being born, before a single human was drowned and before a single Canaanite was killed by an Israelite.
He suffered the death of everyone, so that their souls might live. He may Himself ultimately responsible for EVERY MAN's DEATH. That is LOVE and ultimate responsibility.
Just as it is a truth that everyone came out of Him, everyone will go back to Him [Rom 11:36]
You did not think that Christ could still redeem those souls even before he was physically on earth. Why do you limit Him so much?
The cross has and will resolve all things.
No one would be able to point a finger at God and said He left any thread loosed.
I prefer the God who allowed Himself to be killed as man, like a Lamb before the foundation of the world, knowing that He made Himself ultimately responsible anyway as the CEO of the universe before anyone can point a finger His way and blame Him.
He was the first One to be murdered and suffered.
- Ignore it all together {but that would also lead to the thought of a callous God}
- Intervene every single time, every time wrong is done. {but who decides what is wrong... would potential wrong be included? About to make a bad decision? How far back should there be an intervention?}
- Intervene at a set time (and at another time and at another time): Been there done that. Tried killing all humans except a few. Tried burning a city Sodom when the cry went out to Him. How many times to intervene? What about between those times of interventions when there exists people who were also wrong, but who did not have the fortune of being around the time when things would be righted.
- Intervene Once and for All, that affects every single human being, and that at the end of the day, no matter what happens, you are/ can be restored.
Yes this life has pain and suffering and intervening over and over and over is not the solution while man can freely choose.
Intervening Once and guaranteeing a life that overcomes death, guaranteeing the ability to wipe away all tears, guaranteeing the healing of broken hearts, and taking the most vile person and performing true justice that is not punitive but corrective, where the vile person is changed to no longer desiring to be vile by the fires of His Love, is a better long term solution.
------
Christ has and will restored everything, for out of Him are all things, through Him are all things and back to Him are all things.
Since Christ, who was killed on behalf of all this women, child, dying babies, killed in the OT, and for them, everyone is on their own journey back to Life. The good news is He paid the price, to restore everything and everyone. And He most certainly will.
Comments
Post a Comment