John 3:16New American Standard Bible (NASB)
For God so loved the world, that He gave His [a]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
When I first learned of the sudden and traumatic deaths of the University of Northwestern Alum, along with his young wife and 3 children, who were on their way to serve in the mission field of Japan when at a traffic construction slowdown a semi-truck pushed their vehicle into other cars taking their lives in the process, I was profoundly impacted as were others in the University of Northwestern community.
So often after tragedy occurs we are quick to give up our faith, pack away that bible our grandmother gave us and say see ya later God, and go our merry way. Yet, we forget that this world is falling apart sometimes causing bad things to happen.
Like the tragedy that impacted our family in 2007, I am reminded that Jesus Christ cried over the sudden losses of these 5 family members because He had a full life planned for this family; a life filled with reaching the Japanese people for God's free gift of eternal life.
He had a plan to use this UNW Alum to reach the Japanese, a group with a high rate of suicide, professional burnout, and growing level of disillusionment. If only, they could have made it through that Nebraska construction site.
When tragedy strikes, it is important to lean into our grief, not be afraid to cry, and trust God by simply placing one foot in front of the other, no matter how painful it is to walk. A lesson I learned was the importance of continuing the same rituals we had before our loss. Things like going to church together, attending bible study, or eating out at the same restaurant we ate at before our loss gave us the security at a time we desperately needed to have that security.
The world is looking at our faith as we grieve these losses. From the world's mindset, it is unconscionable that we could believe in a God that would allow 'bad' things to happen. In their minds, they are watching our faith to see if our faith has any relevance for them. Many people are hoping to see in you a relevance that they can claim for their life.
Our faith through this tragedy just may be the deciding factor that brings people to the free gift of eternal life.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Such a powerful verse at a time we need God.
No comments:
Post a Comment