May 19, 1999
EDITORIAL:
God delivers good out of chaos
___We live in an age of transforming redemption.
___Most days, it's pretty hard to see. The obscene glare of political evil, human malevolence and cataclysmic destruction often blinds us to the smaller, simple acts of divine love and restoration. Carnage overwhelms compassion. Or does it?
___Recall what we've viewed in recent weeks: Ethnic cleansing and outright warfare in Kosovo and Yugoslavia. An incomprehensible murderous rampage in a Colorado high school. Epochal destruction wrought by tornadoes in Oklahoma, Kansas and East Texas.
___The sheer scope and breadth and mortality woven through all this evil defies the imagination and leaves us wondering why. Why do people kill, rape and torture in the name of God? Why do bright young people obsess on mayhem until they murder their classmates? Why do swirling clouds descend from the sky and obliterate otherwise quiet, peaceful communities?
___We'll never know. Not on this side of the veil of tears, anyway.
___We do well to flee to Scripture. None resonates more clearly in this sad and melancholy time than the Apostle Paul's touchstone reminder: "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).
___For centuries, some Christians have translated this verse simplistically and perversely. They have said God causes all things to happen so that good will result. What kind of God is that? A God who lets Jesus and Mohammed play "Risk" across Eastern Europe just so Christians can resettle Kosovars in America. A God who unleashes teenage Nazi monsters just so grieving friends can testify at the funerals of young martyrs. A God who spins twisters like tops across the prairie just so big-hearted volunteers can serve others and give a witness.
___That's not a God worthy of the name. And it's not a God who is consistent with divine revelation in the New Testament--a God who loved the world so much that he sacrificed his only Son to redeem us from the righteous consequences of our sins.
___Look at that wonderful verse again: "... in everything God works for good ..." This is a God who suffers with us through the evil that afflicts life. God does not prescribe wars and murders and tornadoes. Yet somehow, mysteriously, God permits them. Even then--no, precisely then--God is present with us, suffering with us and working with us to bring some measure of good out of horrible situations.
___"God does not assault the structures of nature under 'its bondage of decay' (Romans 8:21) but works directly and persuasively through the unfinished structures of creation," notes theologian Frank Tupper. "God does not abrogate human freedom or predetermine the particular configuration of each moment of history. God engages human decision-making creatively and encouragingly. ... God works within the measure of mystery open to God, working the divine purpose in a fashion consistent with the identity of God disclosed in the story of Jesus."
___That's where we find redemption out of carnage. Cosmically, Jesus provided the path of redemption by dying for our sins. In a smaller but parallel manner, Christians redeem horror by presenting the sacrificial love and embrace of Christ to the victims.
___Our hearts are warmed as we see Kosovars resettled and shown love by Christians. We were moved by the testimonies of faith from the lives of Colorado shooting victims Cassie Bernall and Rachel Scott. Read the stories of disaster relief in Oklahoma and you'll thank God for the love and grace of compassionate Christians.
___In each of these cases, as well as countless others worldwide, Christians are redeeming horrendous situations through love and care and the spoken words: "Jesus loves you. God cares for you."
___Of course, we would rather not have this opportunity. In God's perfect will, wars and murder and storms do not exist. But we live in a fallen, broken world. When we work with the God who loves and suffers with all creation, we can bring some good out of utter chaos. To God be the glory.
___ --Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@flash.net
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