Trusting Almighty God Through Jesus Christ in All Things, Good or Bad, is the Only Way to See His Love.

Submitted by M. Tovey (United States), Jan 28, 2008 at 14:44

If I may be allowed to engage in responding this last exchange between Cindy and Daniel, there are many things baffling to anyone who is seeking to put their faith in a good light, only to have it challenged by a tragic event, none more compellingly heartbreaking than the death of an ‘innocent.' How does one explain to any who has lost a child to unfortunate circumstances, whether or not there is a ‘Christian' influence in the lives affected. How does one reconcile faith in a beneficent Almighty God that all faithful claim to be good, when tragedy sweeps away the very breathe in agony of such a loss?

Since all things temporal have to have a start, where to start? For the faithful, there is only one place to start, the Holy Bible. What does it to say to the faithful? It says to Love Almighty God. Jesus Christ called that the greatest commandment. The second is to love one another. But in the question posed in light of the issue of how we may expect Almighty God to treat humanity in light of tragedy befalling the innocents, there is plenty of the Holy Scripture that tells us that good and bad things happen to all, whether there is faith or not.

The Book of Job is probably the first book that approaches the philosophical insight one might need to understand such things, but it is also the scariest. It expresses the absolute sovereignty of the Lord Jehovah in deciding, DECIDING, which things may befall anyone, including a righteous person, as Job is described. He lost his entire family save for his wife, and was put through an excoriating and excruciating examination of his relation of Almighty God. It points to self – examination of the truth of the trust one must have in believing that the Lord will always know what is best in all situations and a mere human cannot question what mere humans cannot know. It is must reading for the faithful in looking at this issue.

Then there is the slaughter of the innocents during the time of Jesus' birth in order to quell Herod's murderous lust for power, trying to insure that the Messiah would not take his throne or dynasty from him. Or try to understand the deaths of at least three children that this reader witnessed while trying to render emergency medical aid, only to determine in the process that the effort was beyond human capability, and then looking into the expectant faces of the grieving parents without having the power to explain why.

For those who do not possess a faithful attitude towards Almighty God and do not desire a relation with Him for whatever reason, there will be no explanation satisfactory. In the absence of a loving relationship with Almighty God, only resentment at a minimum, to outright hatred at the outset is to be expected in such situations of tragedy, since there is no understanding or comprehension. If one wants to at least have a glimpse of the eternal question of life and death, one must have a relationship with Almighty God through Jesus Christ to understand the grace and mercy of His love, available to all who believe.

Tragedy is therefore about bringing all who are involved into a loving relationship with Almighty God because only He can bring one through such things, or a closer relationship of those who already believe in Almighty God because only He can perfect His children in such times of agony.

Jesus Christ took on the form of humanity and the tragedy associated with it, and later died on the cross for the sins of the world to take away the tragedy of eternal death, to provide eternal life to those who believe and accept Jesus Christ as LORD. So, Jesus Christ understands tragedy and gives us through faith a way to deal with it, by trusting in Him and moving closer to Him for His love during the grief.

When those who believe are taken to be with Him, the tragedy of this life is done. However, if one is taken without having a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, then the tragedy remains. For the innocents, they are always in His hands, and we who believe trust in Him to know what is better for them than what can be found in human philosophy. Therein lies the beauty of faith in Him, for in Him is His love expressed through our relationship with Jesus Christ.

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