When the World Crashes In

We learned this morning that the adult daughter of friends of ours was tragically killed in an automobile accident over the weekend. The parents had gone to New Mexico to see her perform the lead in several plays, and after watching her performance, she was on her way home from the theatre when a car ran a light and she died. Our friends emotions went from joy to grief in an instant -- their world crashed in. We are filled with grief for them and their suffering, and with fear that something similar could happen to our world.

In such times, we yearn for rational explanations. If we could just understand WHY, then maybe our suffering would be lessened and maybe our fears for what could be would move to the background. I've been here before. Often enough, in fact, to realize that no one in this life has those answers. I've read extensively on the subject and experienced the paths others have taken. I've looked for wisdom and understanding from the Bible. What I've learned is that there is no nice, simple answer that will reduce our feelings of helplessness and grief or that will make the fears go away.

So I've had to make some decisions about how I react to such events, about what I believe, and about how I deal with what I can't explain. This morning I sat down and wrote out several of these things for my own benefit, and am sharing them here.

1. I choose to have absolute faith in God, his love, his control, and his power. I can't imagine life without God, especially in times of loss and pain and not understanding.

2. I recognize that in this life, no one will be able to develop a satisfying explanation of why bad things happen, especially to good people. I accept that this will be one of the areas of mystery in life -- something without rational explanation.

3. I recognize that this earth and the events of life will not be fully under God's rule and following his will until he chooses. For now, other powers are in play, and they are sources of evil and suffering and death. Therefore I pray, following Jesus' lead, that God's name will be holy, that his kingdom rule will come, and that his will be done on EARTH, as it is in Heaven.

4. I choose to believe that God can and will intervene in the affairs of men to provide protection, healing, and peace, so I pray for these things for myself and others.

5. I recognize that my perspective is very limited and that God's is infinite. That means that what I see as desirable and pray for may not be what should happen, because I have a limited view. It also means that what I perceive as tragic or unfair may not be so at all. God is God, and I am not.

6. I understand that this life is brief, and that it is not an end to itself. The purpose of this life is to prepare our spiritual selves for the life to come. If our physical life on earth was painless and without tragedy, we would not be drawn to focus on the spiritual.

7. Finally, I seek to follow the teachings and example of Jesus as the pattern for my life -- loving God and loving others. Jesus said that loving God and loving others summarizes all of the law and the prophets -- the core of Bible teaching.

When it's all said and done, all I know to do is love. When a piece of my world or someone else's world comes crashing in, the only answer I know is to love them and to love God. And to look forward to the time when the hurt and tragedies of this earth are past and God's kingdom is fully come.

When the world crashes in, all that there is love, and that's all that matters.