Into the Fire

We Christians react in different ways to tragedies. Like most people we want to find the culprit, place the blame, get justice. The faster the better. However, the diverse reactions to the Aurora, Colorado, massacre came quickly and ranged from the political to the clichéd.

Sorrow and loss filled the lenses of cameras as multiple people waited in shock and dread to learn of their loved one's well-being or death. Sadness and trauma dominated feelings of those who read or viewed the news reports.

The captured 24 year old, possibly deranged and deluded, obviously full of himself, enjoyed his turn in the spotlight having accomplished his demonic deed.

What occurs to me in the aftermath of something so senseless and brutal is the plain – and difficult – truth. Sin. Sin gets its season on planet earth, and, God, how ugly and tragic it is. Describing it, absorbing it, watching it, any facet of sin so appropriately gives no comfort. None. The fact that it exists, that it dominates, that it actually governs the lives of so many of us, does not make for easy conversation. On the contrary. It often makes for bitterness and resentment.

"God could've stopped this!" The shouts and screams rage in pain. And sometimes Christians have the audacity to reply to these accusations without waiting for the Spirit of Truth to minister if allowed.

We cannot give the comfort needed. I'm convinced that real, heart-level pain is only soothed by the Lord. And sometimes the victims of tragedy desire no comfort at all. They want to embrace the pain and loss and take it to the end of its horrific journey before even slightly raising a window to healing. They do not want to hear "reasonable" explanations for something so unreasonable. They do not want to concede there will be better days ahead. They do not want to know how loving God is. They do not want to be relieved of dire pain because somehow it means they didn't care enough or they might forget how much this individual meant to them or they might actually find a solid reason to go on living with some enjoyment way into the future. Sometimes they just want to die. Too.

If you've never lost a loved one, regardless of how, you really can't understand how awful those feelings are.

And beyond all the explanations, for Christians, we cannot always conclude "They're in a better place" because we don't always know.

As a Christian, I don't know the whys of such things other than sin gets its day. I do know that daily, hourly, by the minute or the second, the hope of heaven, Jesus Christ, is available for every individual on this stained earth. He lives. He weeps. He sees and knows the pain of sin because He took it all on Himself at the Cross. Who can understand the significance of this? Especially in the midst of such intense pain from such a demonic and gutless massacre?

The ruthless act that killed these people is a result of one man embracing sin. He hurt and murdered people. His picture was pasted all over the world. His story will come out eventually. Opinions and a defense will be formulated. He will be convicted, perhaps executed.

And life will continue in the aftermath. A rare few of us know when our days will end. Christians only know one way to go. And this is it: Jesus answered, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." That's why we tend to rush unguarded into situations with the urgency of the knowledge eternity waits. It only takes a second for a heart to stop beating. We desperately want people to join Jesus when the last breath is taken. To ascend to the "better place" where God has already made the way to join Him forever.

And the only way to escape sin.

Lord of all creation, please comfort. Please. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.