On a morning like this one it is only natural to struggle with the Christian doctrine of an all-powerful, all-loving God. If he were omnipotent, surely he could have prevented this tragedy. If he were all-loving, he would want to do so.
Yesterday's tragedy in Virginia is on everyone's mind and heart this morning. Today's New York Times is reporting what every newspaper in the country must be covering: the death of 32 people in two shooting attacks at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. At least 15 more were injured, some while jumping from upper-story windows where most of the killings occurred. Police said that the gunman then killed himself.
This unspeakable horror was the deadliest shooting rampage in American history. It came nearly eight years after the Columbine tragedy, and eclipses the 1966 shooting on the University of Texas campus which left 17 dead (including the gunman).
On a morning like this one it is only natural to struggle with the Christian doctrine of an all-powerful, all-loving God. If he were omnipotent, surely he could have prevented this tragedy. If he were all-loving, he would want to do so. If you or I were omniscient and omnipotent, I assume that we would have stopped the gunman before his first victim was injured. We wonder why God did not do the same.
Those of us who accept biblical authority understand that God created us to worship him; since worship requires a choice, he gave us freedom of will. It seems clear to me that the Lord then chose to limit himself at the point of our freedom. This decision is no denial of divine sovereignty, as it is the product of God's sovereign choice. As a result, we can and often do misuse our freedom. When we do so, the fault is not God's but ours.
That said, where was God's love and presence in the midst of this unprecedented act of sin and suffering? Where is he today? In a series dealing with his grace, how can we focus on such a subject on a day like today?
The answer lies in the definition of our subject. Grace is getting what we do not deserve, while mercy is not getting what we do. God's mercy is demonstrated when he chooses to forgive the sins we confess, pardoning rather than punishing our transgressions. God's grace is demonstrated when he gives us that which we do not and cannot deserve--his presence in our pain, his comfort in our calamity, his peace in our despair. Even though our sins have exempted us from any claim to deserve God's care, he is still our Father. And he loves his children unconditionally--never more than when they are hurting.
Today is the day to ask for God's gracious comfort for suffering families. And to claim such grace for the greatest pain in our hearts. This is the invitation and the hope of God.
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