Broken God Moments

In my last article I may have left the false impression that I believe the life of a true believer is always supposed to be good, and fair, and pleasant. The sad truth is that life, even for true believers, is not always so pretty. As a matter of fact, it can get very ugly - and be very cruel.

High School graduation is just around the corner. It should be a happy occasion for parents and students alike. But this year, at the Columbia Academy ceremony, there will be an empty chair. And for some, it won’t be happy at all. One split second mistake on a busy highway two years ago and a beautiful, talented, and loving young Christian girl was taken away never to return. She was an only child.

Then there is the lovely young Christian woman who is raising two daughters all alone because her husband was tragically taken away in much the same way. And as if that pain were not enough, now her extended family is rejecting and ostracizing her just for having an opinion and a mind of her own.

I could go on, but I don’t need to. I am sure that you all know tragic stories just like these. So, what do you do with God Moments like that? Well, two things:

First, be in awe. God has promised to never allow anyone to be tempted beyond what they are able to bear. That means that if God is true to his word, (and I believe with all of my heart that he is) then the people left behind in the two stories above are true giants - heroes of faith that the rest of us are not worthy of. I don’t pretend to know their hearts their thoughts or their feelings, but as far as I know, their faith and their devotion to God have never wavered.

Second, did you ever notice what Jesus said in Luke 13:1-9 when he was asked the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” He started talking about manure of all things! (Dung in the KJV, just fertilizer in the NIV) He was basically saying that God allows random tragedies to happen to some simply to motivate and fertilize the rest of us. These tragedies remind the rest of us just how fragile and fleeting life really is. They remind us of the real purpose of our existence. They help the rest of us get our lives and our priorities straight.