I've been watching the news over the last few days and, of course, seen the footage on the tornado in Oklahoma. It is extremely sad when anyone is killed, but it always hits home for me when it involves children. I know what it is like to lose someone, but I won't pretend that I know how it feels to lose your own child. That is something that takes a good deal of resolve to get through and I can imagine it is brutal. I think about if my children were involved, what would I do? I would have probably been arrested for trying to dig through the rubble to find them. I would have been incoherent. I would have been so desperate for hope that, when I didn't find them, I would have spiraled out of control. See, I know that I put my family first over everything else, including God. This is something I have thought about a lot, but not something I can, or want to change. I love my family more than anything, just the thought of losing one of them makes me feel as if a shovel is ripping my insides out. My thoughts are with those who have been through these types of things. Frankly, if this happened to me, I'm not sure if I could make the decision to get up every day or to blow my brains out with my Sig 9mm. Just being honest people, as I'm not an advocate for suicide, but I'm not sure of what my mental frame would be at that point.
Why? Why do these things happen? Why do innocent children continuously get slaughtered in this world? These are complicated questions, to which I have a few suggested answers. I think there are three types of people/outlooks to take into consideration here: The "God is in control", the "We are free people of free will under God", and "Everything is random, there is no God."
God is in control. These things happen because of a greater plan, that only God can comprehend. This seems unfair to us, but it's not our place to question God, or his motives. Maybe God uses situations like this to remind us that life is short and precious. Get your life in order now because you may not have tomorrow to do so. Maybe it's to remind us of how much importance we put on things of this world, even life itself. Hard to swallow, huh?
We are free people, with free will, under God. God allows us to act and live according to how we see fit. We reap what we sow, and God doesn't punish people for making the "wrong" decisions. Due to this, mother nature is of the same ilk. Storms occur because God created the ability for storms to occur, but act independently of his control. This wouldn't be because God couldn't control them, it's because he chooses not to. Are you following this? God is an Overseer, but we make our own life and find our own meanings. Due to this freedom, it is more amazing when we come to have a personal relationship with God, as it is not pressed upon us. To liberal for you?
Finally, people who don't believe in God, don't really care why these things happen. They obviously don't believe a higher being created these storms to punish people. They don't even believe that this world was made by a creator. Everything is random. There is no reason. Weather sucks, but what can you do about it, right?
Most people think that God does things like this to punish or to teach people a lesson. Some people would even go so far as to say that because America has strayed so far from it's founding, that God is dishing out his wrath on us. I believe God is love. Take what you want from that. I believe that we are of free will, but I also believe God intervenes in some cases. I know, that's a contradiction. I haven't sorted it all out to be able to go fully in one direction or the other. What do you think? Why are our children being taken from us in such alarming numbers?
Thinking and Praying for strength and hope for those affected by these types of terrible events.
I was always told and even after many years of soul searching that God does not punish people for our decisions. I think it has more to do with Satan trying to break our faith and having free will it is then up to us to ask or plead to God for his strength and willpower from that point we get what we need not so much what we want.
ReplyDeleteI always find it interesting when people feel like God is just sitting there, waiting for us to mess up so he can pour his wrath out on us...That's not the God I worship. Jesus was proof that God is love. Jesus paid the cost so we would not have to...
ReplyDeleteWell Barnsey, I do agree with you. I think the problem mainline religion, Christianity mostly, has created (from the beginning) is trying to explain why this stuff happens. From the beginning of time it seems (as evidence in the Bible) man has seen "bad" things happen. From natural disasters to wars and invasions of countries where we witness thousands of people getting slaughtered, to sickness and young kids getting terminally ill diseases. We see that and want to push the blame off on a "God upstairs" who is controlling all of these unfortunate events down here. And then man turned it into the fact that God is Santa Claus and is making a list of naughty and nice. If we get on the naughty list then....Bam! A curse of God from Satan could be placed in our lives or the lives of others. That is ignorance about the God of love that we know. To even blame disasters on the "devil", to me, is ignorance and people feeling like they have to pass the buck so to speak. People have to blame something or someone. It can't be an all loving God, so it has to be Satan. Whatever. That puts Satan right up there on par with God, powerful enough to control major events...even weather patterns itself....if there is a Satan:)
ReplyDeleteIt comes down to the fact where we have to accept the reality that we don't have an answer for why these natural disasters happen. We can no longer cling to archaic ideas that there are spiritual head honchos up in the sky controlling all of this. We are too smart for that aren't we? All we can to is choose today who we will serve, walk in love, grieve with those that mourn, pray for people, and enjoy as much of life as we can. The disciples of Jesus asked at one point if they should throw fire down from heaven on some people who were disobeying the law (or something, not sure) and Jesus rebuked them for saying that. He said you don't know what you're talking about, that's not who I am. God doesn't do these things.