Bella Vista Church of Christ
LIFELINES
September 19, 2001 Randall Caselman
Responding To Tragedy
The tragic events of last week brought a flood of questions. I was serving as the chaplain in the heart unit at Washington Regional Hospital when the attack came, and the first question was why?? Why would God let something like this happen?
I don’t have the answer, but we must know this: This tragedy occurred because we live in a fallen world, a world where Satan seeks to destroy people and ruin lives with hate and death. God created us as free moral agents, so we choose our own course, good or evil! God placed Adam and Eve in a Paradise Garden, but they made an evil choice. And men and women, boys and girls, have been making wrong choices ever since. Bin Laden, or one of his kind, made an evil choice and the American Paradise was interrupted-and in our lifetime, things will never be the same. What happened was not God’s fault, but the fault of evil men and the choice they made. Like many others, this tragedy was a human choice-and it touched the heart of God more than ours as He watched those precious souls hurled into eternity-some unprepared. Souls for whom He came and died.
Even though we don’t know why, we can know this: That God CAN and WILL take these tragic events and bring about something good. This is His promise in Romans 8.28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” So don’t ask why; but look for and anticipate the good that God has promised.
What should my response be? Some suggestions from Scripture:
1. Be Angry and Sin Not.
As we watched the events unfold, I think we all became angry, right? It is appropriate to feel anger-but NOT hate! Jesus plainly taught that hate harbored in our heart will bring God’s judgment upon us, and Paul said that we were not to let the sun go down upon our wrath. It is appropriate to be angry-but NOT to judge or retaliate! It’s tempting to make hasty misjudgments and vent our wrath upon others, but remember that as Christian individuals we are not to seek revenge and retaliation. It is appropriate to feel anger-but NOT prejudice! It would be easy for us to prejudice ourselves, declare that all Muslims ought to be deported, all of Arabic decent ought to be killed. This would be so wrong!
2. Allow the Government to Punish the Evildoer.
There is a difference between us as individuals and our government. As children of God, we are to be passive people, we are to turn the other cheek. However, the Bible plainly teaches that God established Civil Governments for this very reason-To punish the evildoer and the wicked! Paul said in Romans 13.1-4 that God created governing authorities, that such an authority “does not bear the sword for nothing” and that such an authority is “God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” Peter said in 1 Peter 2.13-14 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.” So, let us allow our government to formulate its response, praying that it will be within God’s will. Then we can-and, I believe, we should-support it.
3. Pray Always.
Pray for the victims and their families.
Pray for the rescuers that they be kept safe as they tirelessly retrieve the dead and the living. Pray for our leaders that their response will be within God’s will. Pray for the military personnel who are on alert and who may be asked to respond in a military strike. “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4.16) “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray... Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer offered in faith will make the sick well... The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5.13-17)
4. Judge Not That You Be Not Judged.
If you watched that plane slam into the second tower over and over and over-knowing that your spouse and children were aboard-What is an overreaction? You see each of us is made differently and will have a different reaction. Some reacted in prayer; some went to their Bibles; some drove to New York to help; some gave blood; some gathered their loved ones and held them tight; some dipped into savings to aid the victims and rescuers; some vowed never to fly again. I think that unless your reaction is harmful to you or to others that basically it is an appropriate reaction. All of us handle trauma differently, so let us not judge but weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn.
May God bless our nation.
RANDALL CASELMAN
