OK, so just a quick disclaimer: I've been reading quite a bit of Rob Bell and Donald Miller's works lately, which has many side effects, one of which is extensive thinking. The following blog is most likely the result of this dangerous pasttime.
As I look around this city, it is impossible to forget the earthquake that ravaged it one year ago. There is still rubble everywhere and thousands of tents litter the city. When I hear people recount to me the tragedy that struck on January 12th 2010, I can see the sadness in their eyes. Not a single person in this country was left unaffected by this disaster. In 45 seconds, an entire nation was turned upside down. It is impossible for me to look around at the mass graves, to hold an orphaned child in my arms and to walk through the tent cities and not ask my God the question: Where are you in all this? And where are you now?
One common explanation for the earthquake is that God was shaking the foundations of this country. People frequently tell the story of how a slave, 200 years ago, drank blood and committed the country of Haiti to the devil for 2 centuries in exchange for their freedom from the French. The curse on this land is evident: the once fertile soil is now dry and barren, poverty and famine are everywhere. Many believe that after the curse ended in 2004, God wanted to start over in Haiti, tear it all down and rebuild it. Every important government building- all built on the foundation of Voodoo rituals- has now been reduced to a pile of rubble.
Now this theory sounds nice until you drive past a mass grave where 80,000 people lie dead, or until you hear a four-year-old state matter-of-factly: my mom and dad are dead now. The God I serve is a God whose heart breaks for orphans and who despises death and destruction. The God I serve is a God who gives “life in abundance” and longs to bring joy and love to His children. How then could the same God sing the death warrant of hundreds of thousands of people and leave the rest to suffer through loneliness, disease and starvation?
No. I cannot accept that God divised this disaster, orchestrated the whole thing for some higher purpose. And while I acknowledge that God’s ways are higher than our ways, I don’t want to use it as a cop-out, and simply accept that this is beyond my understanding. I believe that the opposite of faith is not doubt- in fact, doubt is crucial to the growth of faith. In Eph 1:17, Paul prays that “The God of our Lord Jesus, the Father of glory may give to you a spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of Him" and in James 1:5 he says that if anyone lacks wisdom he should ask God for it because He gives it generously and without reproach. So I am not afraid to continue questioning. But rather than theorizing and wondering about the mysteries of God as though He were some far-off, mythological entity, I exercise my privilege of an intimate relationship with God through Jesus and ask Him directly.
And Jesus responds by bringing to mind the story of Lazarus in John 11. Now, in this story, when Jesus first found out that Lazarus was ill, He was probably aware that he would die if He didn’t leave immediately to go help him. He knew Lazarus was going to die but He didn’t prevent it. He knew Lazarus was going to die, but when He got there and found His dear friend actually dead, He was heartbroken. He wept. He grieved. He joined Mary and Martha in mourning. His pain was every bit as acute as theirs because Lazarus was His friend too, “the one He loved” (v.3) But He didn’t stop there. He took the situation to His Father and asked Him to redeem it. And it was in the midst of this disaster that Jesus performed on the greatest miracles of His ministry.
Jesus did not cause Lazarus to become sick and die- some disease or accident that is simply the result of living in a fallen world did that. In the same way, I do not believe that God caused the earthquake in Haiti. Our whole planet got messed up during the Fall. Earthquakes happen. (I suppose it is also a definite possibility that the evil one could have had some part to play in it as well- after all, Jesus did call him the Prince of the Earth.)
Jesus knew Lazarus would die. He definitely could have prevented it, being God, but He didn’t “for the glory of God that the Son of God might be glorified through it” (v.4). Jesus also knew the Earthquake would hit Haiti on January 12th, 2010, turning an entire nation upside down. He could have prevented it but He didn’t. He did not cause this disaster but He allowed it to happen. Slight difference in wording, huge difference in implications.
In the case of Lazarus’ death, Jesus’ heart broke. On the day of the earthquake, His heart broke again. He wept. He grieved. He joined with the nation of Haiti in mourning. He said to Himself in both situations, “This is not how I created this world to be”.
But He didn’t stop there. He didn’t panic or freak out or go “Ah! Now what?!”. No, he rolled up His sleeves and from the ashes of disaster, He began to bring life. He looked at the fallen world, at the beautiful mess we’ve made for ourselves and He got to work. Because God is in the business of redeeming. He loves to take our mistakes and turn them into something beautiful. He did it with Lazarus. He is doing it in Haiti. And He is doing it in our lives every day.
So where is God in disaster? He’s right there with us, feeling our loss, our confusion, our pain just as intensely as we are. But even as He wipes the tears from His eyes, He is working in situation- no matter how convoluted- to make it into something even better than it was before, to bring His kingdom of Heaven here in the place of Hell and to give glory to His name forever and ever. Amen ☺
No comments:
Post a Comment