Our community was rocked by a tragedy over the weekend. This senseless act of violence didn't occur in our community directly but it affected us just the same. It affected one of our own so of course it affected all of us. We mourn the loss as if it were one of our own family members because indeed it did touch a member of our community so directly. As the Body of Christ we share the pain and loss of even one member of our Church community. We feel the pain as if it were our own.
One of my second graders asked me the other day if God created bad people. We had been talking about creation and how after God created something new each day He pronounced that creation good. I reminded her of this teaching and so naturally the next question was the why do people do bad things. I was waiting for the inevitable why do bad things happen to good people question but she really was concerned with the fact that if people were good why did they do bad things. She reasoned that they must be bad and that they must not love God. I asked her if she had ever gotten in trouble and done something "bad". She honestly answered yes she had, so I asked her if she loved God, she emphatically said she did. I let her mull that over in her head and then I reminded her we all make choices, some good and some not so good. Our actions are a reflection of the choices we make. She then asked that if someone had made a bad choice would God forgive them. I reassured her that yes God would forgive us if we were truly sorry and asked for his forgiveness.
I was reminded that God is truly a forgiving God when it comes to any transgression, but the key is to acknowledge our wrongdoing and we must be sorry for the transgression. I wonder if we realize the sorrow we must feel in our hearts when we have sinned against God and against one another. It must be a gut-wrenching, I am sick to my stomach for hurting you, kind of sorrow. We can not know what is in another's heart and it is not up to us to judge, that will be for God alone. We can pray for those that need to find their way back to God and know that ultimately justice will prevail in the final end, maybe not in this life but certainly in the life to come.
Out of every tragedy comes God's merciful love. Sadly for some it does take a tragedy to see the path their lives have taken. The tragedy that occurs is someone's darkness and from that darkness they may see the light eventually. Hopefully the light of Christ will reach these poor souls involved in the horrific events of this past weekend. It will take much for forgiveness to be won, both from the victims as well as themselves and from God. We as a community can pray for healing, the Body of Christ has been hurt, we as a community must help one another with the healing.
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