As
many in our nation, I was shaken deeply when I saw the events unfold last Friday,
December 7. One person in Newtown on television asked aloud, “Where was God in
all this?” Many more sitting at home were undoubtedly saying the same thing.
Kathy
went to Franklin to see our grandkids’ Christmas pageant, so I was home. I
spent most of Saturday meditating on the
events of Friday, taking stock of how I would respond if the same thing
happened at my own school. I wondered how we as a school would react in the aftermath of
such a terrible and tragic event.
I
turned to my heavenly Father and asked Him to be with the families of those 20
children, and He whispered to my spirit, “I am already there.”
It
was then I realized He has always been here. Sadly, we have not been with Him.
I remembered the story of the old couple who were riding along the road one night in their old pickup truck. The woman sat on the well-worn bench
seat while her husband drove and reminisced as she asked
him, ”Honey, how come we don’t sit together like we used to?” The old man grinned
as he looked at his wife seated by the window and replied, “I ain’t moved.”
When
we as a culture move away from God, it is hard to see Him. Businesses,
families, school systems and entire communities have intentionally moved God OUT of the
mainstream of our lives. Groups are and individuals are now threatened with being sued for praying,
the cross is being removed from view, and mentioning Jesus or God is declared as
establishing ‘religion’ by some. While the state has effectively removed prayer and God from
our classrooms, when this tragedy hit, God was suddenly welcomed back into a
school searching for answers.
God
has never moved. From eternity to eternity, God is still God. Isaiah wrote when
the people had turned far from God for answers, and most of the book is spent
reminding His people of what chapter 45:4-5 states: “… though you do not
acknowledge me, I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no
God.”
Our
culture has moved God OUT of our culture, but as soon as we have a tragedy,
especially one we cannot explain – a tsunami, an earthquake, a hurricane, or an
unexplainable shooting
But
where was God in Newtown?
He
was there. He was doing what He does best, even in the midst of a place where
most have shunned Him, rejected Him and replaced Him with many other gods. Of
course, He is used to that. His Son experienced rejection, misunderstanding,
physical pain and torment. He even allowed His own creatures to torture Him.
But
God came near even when we moved away.
God
was there with His many angels as a madman came to rob, steal and destroy the
innocence of many innocent children and the guardians we call teachers.
I
wrote on Facebook that the martyr Stephen, who was being stoned, had what Luke
described as the “face of an angel” as those big rocks tore at his flesh. And
when he looked up he saw the Lord Jesus STANDING, not seated at the right hand
of Almighty God, acknowledging him and taking away the sting of death, because
Scripture states that Stephen “fell asleep” after asking God to forgive His
killers.
I
believe our God took His twenty small children home to be with Him, free from
the pain and torment and the evil that surrounded them.
Listen to what Isaiah 57:1-2 states:
The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; the devout
are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be
spared from evil.
Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie
in death.
Where was God?
He
showed up in the lives of policemen who did not know what they would see when
they entered the building, or whether they themselves would come home alive
that day.
He
showed up in the lives of some ordinary teachers, who became extraordinary as
they held, guarded and shielded their children from the horror surrounding
them.
He
showed up in the saints of Newtown, as they rushed to offer aid and consolation
to those who were wondering, shouting, crying, and asking “Why?”
He
showed up in candlelight vigils, listening to the thoughts and prayers from His
children.
He
even showed up in the White House, as our President used His book to offer hope
to a nation.
And
God was here in my heart, comforting me as I questioned why twenty young souls
and their parents, brothers, sisters, and families had to suffer, and what
would we do if this same tragedy happened in my school.
I have been reminded this week of one simple truth.
God is still God.
He always has been, and He always will be God. He alone
is holy, He alone is perfect and just.
The God we know binds up wounds and is near to the
brokenhearted.
And He will make all things new to those who realize He
has never moved away.
But God is waiting for His children – to move back, to
remain close, or to move even closer to Him.
Like children, He longs for a people who will trust Him
with a childlike faith, with an almost reckless abandon.
Children are like that – trusting, loving, faithful,
hoping. Like the song’ “Jesus Loves the Little Children”, Jesus loved the little
ones in Newtown so much He took them to heaven to be with Him and His Father.
Listen to how Jesus admonished His disciples in Matthew
18:10, when he said, “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell
you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”
“Where was God?” may be the wrong question to ask.
Perhaps we should ask, “Where are we?”
