Not too often do I blog about things when I am pretty hacked off. Most of the time I am eager to share knowledge with you guys or just wanting to write something that I find interesting. Generally, I am fairly easy going and I try to be as joyful as I can be. I try my hardest to make each of my blogs enjoyable and educational, with just a hint of humor. And maybe some sarcasm.
However, this is not one of those times.
I write this pretty furious. I'm mad at the world, and the deviant that it has become. I'm angry that God has not only been placed on the back burner, but His very existence is not even in question anymore. The world, as it seems, is in full agreement that God does not exist, the Bible is about as reliable as the Mother Goose stories, and Jesus never existed. How infuriating! What I hold so dear to my heart, my Lord and Savior Jesus and His gospel message, is openly being mocked, ridiculed, and we (Christians) are being thought of as idiotic, uneducated, close-minded bigots that pray to a big giant Santa in the sky and force our nonsense on the world.
I was on a semi-popular social networking site, one that tends to look unfavorably on the people of faith - ironic since most of the people there would tell you they believe in tolerance, education, and togetherness, but whatever. I normally just brush over the few times I would encounter snide comments, the blasphemous depictions of God, and the hatred for His word. But today, I just couldn't do it. I had to say something! Even if just to you few.
Today, I saw a post regarding this:
And one of the comments was this:
First off, how insensitive do you have to be to mock people for praying to their God for peace and healing after 14 people were murdered? I'm not even talking about a specific faith here either. No one mocks people for the "sending good thoughts your way" comments. No one belittles the person who says, "thinking of you guys in this time of need." In fact, if Tom Cruise said he was going to pray, or whatever the Scientologists do, for the victims and their families, no one would bat an eye. He'd even probably gain tons of followers and have thousands of re-tweets. So why attack people who's hearts are going out to those affected by this tragedy? Why use something like this to attack? What I want to add is that these people - Ted Cruz, Dr. Rand Paul, Paul Ryan, Lindsey Graham - are all Christians. They love Jesus. So, not only are these people insensitive to the families affected, but the are using it to belittle Christians. Notice any hostility towards ANY OTHER faith? Me neither.
Secondly, I am amazed at the ignorance of these two statements! "God isn't fixing this" is just the most idiotic statement possible. Blaming God for all the evil in the world is an argument as old as Adam and Eve and stems from the belief that if God is all good and all powerful, and God hates evil, then evil should not exist. But since evil does exist, then God must not. This is a fallacious argument and is easily explained away. You see, God designed us to be able to choose and live our own lives. He didn't create mindless robots or drones that have to choose to follow Him. As such, God allows allows us to make good and bad choices. Unfortunately, some people choose really poorly sometimes and choose to terrorize and murder innocent lives. Ultimately then, evil exists because of our own malice and sinful nature and rebellion towards a holy God. We chose to sin, we are continually choosing to continue to sin, and evil is the result. So to a non-believer it may make sense to blame Him for not "fixing" these problems. But if He were to "fix them" then we would no longer be free to choose or not choose him. Our love for Him would be forced and not genuine. It is more important for Him to have people who truly and genuinely abide in Him, even if that means that evils will occur, than to have no evils and therefore no true followers. So, for those of us who know and love God, we completely understand where the evils of the world come from - our own sinful nature - and know and trust that God is in control.
Furthermore, people need to understand that God always answers our prayers, but He doesn't always answer them the way we want Him to. Just like a kid doesn't always get his way with his parents, God doesn't always give us what we want. Sometimes the answer is no. And as hard as that is, we as people of faith need to believe that when He does reply, regardless of the answer, it's out of His perfect love and grace and for the best (Rom. 8:28). I don't know why things like this happen. I really can't grasp how God could make these shootings turn out for the best, but that's because His ways are not my ways (Isa. 55:8). "But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'"" (Rom. 9:20). I'm sure Joseph prayed for his release from prison in Egypt, or that Daniel prayed to not be thrown to the lions, or his three buddies prayed not to be thrown in the fire. Even Jesus asked for things to be different (Matt. 26:39). But, as Joseph said, we are in God's place and though there are evils against us, God meant it for good. (Gen. 50:20).
Lastly, and more importantly, you need to know that God has already fixed this problem. That's right, you read that correctly. DO YOU HEAR ME DAILY NEWS? THE PROBLEM HAS ALREADY BEEN FIXED! and was done so in the person of Jesus Christ. Our biggest problem isn't terrorism. It's not the NRA, as the democratic party would have you believe. Our biggest problem is sin and the Hell that comes with it, literally. Jesus paid our debts and forgave our sins on the cross. So, He has fixed it.
I am a firm believer in the power of prayer. I've seen it work in my life many a times as well as the lives of my friends and family. We pray because we are powerless. We have no control of anything. Of all the things that we go through in our lives, maybe a fraction of things are in our control. This is why we need God to be present in our lives. And in times like this, we need prayer more than ever. One of my favorite comics, Jeff Allen, said, "Love, peace, and tolerance are God given traits. If they weren't we'd be a much more loving, tolerant, and peaceful people." Prayer is us asking God to give us what we cannot generate within ourselves. Pray for peace in these troubled times. Pray that God would grant these families a peace that overcomes all grief, a peace that only God can provide. Pray that these thoughtless killings cease and that His love would be our response.
Lastly, I leave you with this:
"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thes. 5:16-18).
My prayers go out to the families who are grieving. Father, God, my heart breaks for the amount of sorrow and pain these families and friends must be feeling. I don't know them, but you do. You love them more than anyone can understand. Please God, grant them your spirit. Wash over them and comfort them. I pray, God, that you grant them what they so desperately need in these next coming days, weeks, months, and years. I pray for the children of the victims who now have one less parent and ask that you comfort them as well. Grant them your peace, your love, and your security. Amen.
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