"It's Not Supposed to Happen Here"

As believers we bear the message of the Gospel in the midst of our own frailty and the messiness of life and its resident evil. People have searching questions rooted in the soil of deep despair, sorrow, pain, and loss that evil, sin, and death produce. The situation leads the thoughtful observer to  conclude: "Things are not the way that they should be!" What are we to make of God's goodness, omnipotence, and the radical evil we see around us?

In the wake of the recent Connecticut massacre of 20 children and 6 adults these deep questions haunt not only the families of the victims but observers in the U.S. and around the world. This morning I read the following and thought it a window into what many (esp those in the U.S.) are thinking in the wake of this tragedy:

“A resident of Newtown told a television reporter: "Things like this just aren't supposed to happen here." No, they aren't. And "here" means not just Newtown, not just Connecticut, but this country we all share. It's not supposed to happen here. Yet it does, again and again. And, in a season of peace, a strong, no-longer-young nation, blessed with so many people of compassion and wisdom and good will, finds itself in a bleak and familiar place -- unable to answer the most basic question of all: Why?” (cf., http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/16/opinion/greene-connecticut-shooting/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29)

Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY) helpfully reframes the "why" question in a biblically and theologically sensitive way:

“[T]he Christian must affirm the grace of moral restraint, knowing that the real question is not why some isolated persons commit such crimes, but why such massacres are not more common. We must be thankful for the restraint of the law, operating on the human conscience. Such a crime serves to warn us that putting a curve in the law will inevitably produce a curve in the conscience. We must be thankful for the restraining grace of God that limits human evil and, rightly understood, keeps us all from killing each other. Christians call evil what it is, never deny its horror and power, and remain ever thankful that evil will not have its full sway, or the last word” (http://www.albertmohler.com/2012/12/14/rachel-weeping-for-her-children-the-massacre-in-connecticut/; the full article is well worth your time).

We must agree with the Newtown resident, things are not the way they are supposed to be and that the killing of one human being, much less 26, should not happen here...in this world...as it was originally created to be.

In the wake of this tragedy, people are searching for answers. How can we prevent such things from happening? What went wrong? Some are blaming government. Some are blaming guns (or gun culture). Some are blaming God. How can God let something like this happen? Does He not want to stop it? Is He not powerful enough ? Is He not complicit in this evil that He seems to have left unchecked?

Christians, however, know the truth of the Gospel: Our own sin is to blame, not God. God created man without sin, but he chose it over God and has received the consequences of that decision: sin and death. Further, God has not abandoned us in our sinful estate, but loved the world and sent His Son to bear our sins and the wrath that they deserve. This is good news in the superlative! Jesus, God's Son, voluntarily became our Savior through suffering and death administered by the hands of sinful humans He created. He is not distant from our evil, he experienced it firsthand. But there's more!

Jesus Christ arose from the grave and is coming again to bring about the justice and righteousness we all find ourselves longing for in the face of a tragedy like Newtown. When He returns, he will make all things new. Those reading this who have embraced this coming King by faith and experienced His coming kingdom through the regeneration of their own sinful hearts understand the predicament of the current evil age. We understand that evil is not outside us but within us. The only hope of mankind is not found in better laws or preventions. While these may help restrain evil, they will never conquer it. The only hope of humankind is the person who has conquered sin and death, and who can make us new.

In the coming days followers of Jesus Christ will have a chance to help shed the light of the Gospel into the darkness of fallen, human understanding. No, massacres like Newtown are not the way things are supposed to be. No, they shouldn't happen here. But in the dark reality to which our sin has led, there is a burning light of hope: our King is coming! May God give His saints grace to respond biblically and thoughtfully to the questions people are asking, directing their attention to the incarnate, crucified, risen, ascended, and returning King who will set everything to right. His kingdom is better! Let us labor in the hope of His return.

Maranatha!

J

A Mother's Day Tribute to My Mom: Janis Watson

I read the following exhortation during the corporate worship service on Mother's Day this year (2012). I truly am thankful for her loving care for me and for the many and varied ways I see that same care taking place in my own home through Karen to our girls. 

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” (Prov 31:30).

My mother, Janis Watson, loved me in numerous ways, but there is one facet of her character I want to celebrate this morning. She is a woman who, in word and deed, embodies the fear of the Lord.

God was at the center of our home and its activity. We read and memorized the Scriptures, sang hymns, and prayed. All of this had the effect of communicating that God is real . . . His Word is true . . . and that His love extends to our deepest needs.

I remember praying with my mom when I was young. She had a small notebook in which we wrote the names of those that were sick, poor, or needy in some way. She would sit me in her lap and we would spend time asking God to show His mercy in each case. I still remember when God spared an older man for whom we had been praying—a man with a brain tumor. Seeing God answer a prayer of such significance made an impression. Every time I saw Mr. Nethercutt at church, I was reminded of God’s mercy and fatherly care.

The faith frequently displayed in our home, coupled with the not infrequent conversations of God’s loving-kindness in Christ, laid the foundation for my later salvation. As the writer of Hebrews puts it, “Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

God used my mother to impress the reality of His sovereignty, providence, and love onto my young heart. I rejoice in my memories of her example as well as what I see happening in my own home today as my wife READS, PRAYS, and SINGS with our girls about our God and His steadfast love.

Mothers, I exhort you in your ministry. Be encouraged. Don’t take it lightly or believe the lie that a mother is unremarkable or insignificant. Your words and actions have a unique role in forming the foundation a worldview . . . better: in forming a heart that will shape every decision your child makes. I pray that you too, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, will embody the fear of the Lord and the grace of His Gospel as you minister daily to the children He has given you.

J