In the wake of the Virginia Tech Massacre yesterday, I felt compelled to write to you early this week and discuss this current tragedy - along with what shall help shape our response. I have read many different commentaries on this horrific event, and so many of them are asking, "Why?" Why did this happen? Why didn't someone do something to stop this from happening? Some are calling for more laws, different laws, stepped-up enforcement of laws already on the books. I've been thinking about this a great deal this morning as I have gone about my daily tasks, and as I headed out for lunch, something moved within me to write about something I am seeing and hearing very little about in the midst of this discussion, and that is the true root of any answer to the 'Why' question: Quite simply, we live in a world where not everything goes according to God's will. Ever since Genesis 3, the world we now live in has not been as God originally intended. Through the crucifixion and resurrection, our Lord began the work of restoring creation to the way it ought to be. However, no one knows that day when He will come again and glory and all will be right with the world.
We, the church, have just gotten finished with our annual celebration of our Lord's last days, his death, and his resurrection. If I had one thing to say to you as you process this truly heinous day in Blacksburg, VA, it would be this: Do not let anything in this world, nor anything that happens in this world, rob you of the hope that we have as Christians that better days are ahead. Good Friday and Easter Sunday remind us that ours is but a temporary residence in this world - that we have a future that far exceeds our wildest imaginations when it comes to pure unbridled joy. We worship a God of redemption and hope, not destruction and despair. This is not to minimize at all what happened at this university, nor to minimize the pain and trauma that so many are experiencing at this time. I cannot imagine the pain and sorrow that these families (the families of the students who lost their lives - including the murderer - and the larger Virginia Tech family), and I know you join me in extending thoughts and prayers to those who are directly involved in this disaster.
To answer the question why leaves us with a quite unsatisfying human reality, for the ultimate answer is: We don't know. And we probably never will. The good news is, however, we worship a God who is not up there looking down upon us, but a God who is walking with us, through the highs and lows of life. No matter what we go through, no matter how high or low the situation is that we find ourselves in, our God is right here walking with us, experiencing everything we experience. And in that, we find comfort and strength in times like these.
I will be reflecting more on this during worship this Sunday, and to help us prepare for worship this Sunday I would appreciate your taking the time to send me a brief note with your thoughts and reflections.
See you Sunday!
Lamar
We, the church, have just gotten finished with our annual celebration of our Lord's last days, his death, and his resurrection. If I had one thing to say to you as you process this truly heinous day in Blacksburg, VA, it would be this: Do not let anything in this world, nor anything that happens in this world, rob you of the hope that we have as Christians that better days are ahead. Good Friday and Easter Sunday remind us that ours is but a temporary residence in this world - that we have a future that far exceeds our wildest imaginations when it comes to pure unbridled joy. We worship a God of redemption and hope, not destruction and despair. This is not to minimize at all what happened at this university, nor to minimize the pain and trauma that so many are experiencing at this time. I cannot imagine the pain and sorrow that these families (the families of the students who lost their lives - including the murderer - and the larger Virginia Tech family), and I know you join me in extending thoughts and prayers to those who are directly involved in this disaster.
To answer the question why leaves us with a quite unsatisfying human reality, for the ultimate answer is: We don't know. And we probably never will. The good news is, however, we worship a God who is not up there looking down upon us, but a God who is walking with us, through the highs and lows of life. No matter what we go through, no matter how high or low the situation is that we find ourselves in, our God is right here walking with us, experiencing everything we experience. And in that, we find comfort and strength in times like these.
I will be reflecting more on this during worship this Sunday, and to help us prepare for worship this Sunday I would appreciate your taking the time to send me a brief note with your thoughts and reflections.
See you Sunday!
Lamar
