Skip to main content

Questions from the Dark

Following a recent local tragedy in which a young family (husband, wife, and two daughters) were killed in a plane crash, I've been talking with people affected by the tragedy. In many ways, an accident like this has a broad ripple affect beyond even secondary and tertiary relationships. People remember when they have been in similar situations or their own fears around death (their own, of their loved ones) rise to the surface.

Inevitably the question arises, "Why did God cause this to happen?" And its corollary: "How can this be a part of God's plan?"













This is a sure-fire pastor stumper to which there is no great, comforting answer. Truthfully, I don't believe God caused this tragedy to happen and I don't think it was part of the plan. I think accidents happen because God allows us to use our free will and also allows the same of the people around us. The decisions we make (good, bad or neutral) can affect others just as their decisions affect us.

I think the harder question and my own question is, "Why didn't God stop this?"

I can understand germ theory. I get that accidents happen. I understand (mostly) laws of motion and thermodynamics. I even appreciate that God allows the natural world to work in its own way, to its own consequences- some of which we can change and some of which we can't.

Yet, I do believe that God can alter a course, if God decides to so. So why doesn't that happen more often (or at all)?

I don't know.

I do believe God has a plan, but mostly I think it is long-term. We are co-creators, stewards of the earth, caretakers of our neighbors, employing our free will in the details, but God has the big picture under control.

Things may well be swayed from God's desire for us and for creation, but we cannot change the arc of salvation, judgment or grace.

I think of Elijah, demanding an answer of God (1 Kings 18:9-18), as to whether God would allow Elijah's enemies to kill him. God comes to Elijah in silence. This makes me wonder if, when God is silent, we are either unable to hear or we are asking the wrong questions.

Nevertheless, I do not have all the answers.

This I believe: Accidents happen. Was God there? Yes. Are they with God? Yes. Did God cause this? No. Could God have stopped this? Yes, God was capable of doing so. Why didn't God stop this? I don't know.


I, myself, pray that preserves my faith until that time when it is no longer necessary. When I have answers, but the questions no longer matter.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Religious Holidays in Anchorage

You may have read in the Anchorage Daily News about a new policy regarding certain religious holidays and the scheduling of school activities. If not, a link to the article is here . The new rules do not mean that school will be out on these new holiday inclusions, but that the Anchorage School District will avoid scheduling activities, like sporting events, on these days. The new list includes Passover, Rosh Hashanah , Yom Kippur , Eid al - Fitr and Eid al - Adha . They are added to a list which includes New Year's, Orthodox Christmas and Easter, Good Friday, Easter, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. The new holidays may be unfamiliar to some: Passover is a Jewish celebration, in the springtime, that commemorates the events in Egypt that led up to the Exodus. The name of the holiday comes specifically from the fact that the angel of death "passed over" the houses of the Israelites during the plague which killed the eldest sons of the Egyptians. Passover is a holiday

Latibule

I like words and I recently discovered Save the Words , a website which allows you to adopt words that have faded from the English lexicon and are endanger of being dropped from the Oxford English Dictionary. When you adopt a word, you agree to use it in conversation and writing in an attempt to re-introduce said word back into regular usage. It is exactly as geeky as it sounds. And I love it. A latibule is a hiding place. Use it in a sentence, please. After my son goes to bed, I pull out the good chocolate from my latibule and have a "mommy moment". The perfect latibule was just behind the northwest corner of the barn, where one had a clear view during "Kick the Can". She tucked the movie stub into an old chocolate box, her latibule for sentimental souvenirs. I like the sound of latibule, though I think I would spend more time defining it and defending myself than actually using it. Come to think of it, I'm not really sure how often I use the

A Litany for Mother's Day

A: Loving God, You are everywhere the Lord and Giver of life. We praise You for the gift of mothers through whom You give us life. C: We thank You for their willingness to nurture life, for their trust in You to guide them through the labor of childbirth, the uncertainties of youth, the letting go of young adulthood. A: We thank You for all those women, who did not give us birth, but through whom You give us abundant life: C: We thank You for school teachers, aunts, grandmothers, sisters, pastors, elders, Sunday School teachers, supervisors, co-workers, neighbors and friends who share wisdom. A: We ask Your tender mercies on all those whose mothers now sing with the heavenly chorus, especially for those whose tears are not yet dry. C: Grant them Your peace, which passes all our understanding. A: We ask Your comforting presence on those mothers who have buried sons and daughters. C: Comfort them with the knowledge of their children in Your eternal care. A: We pray for those w