The events in Aurora, Colorado, this last week have given many pause for thought. We are all going through the stages of grief, shock, anger, questioning why and not receiving adequate answers.
I heard one young lady who survived say 'I guess God was watching out for me.' Pretty arrogant, don't you think? Wasn't he watching out for those who were victims? The heroes who laid down their lives, shielding their loved ones from the flying bullets....
Kinda made me angry, to hear her. As if she personally was protected by a higher power than anyone else there.
God was there, all right. As he was there at neighboring Columbine a few years ago, as he was at Oklahoma City, when the Federal Building was blown up, as he was at the Twin Towers on that September 11th, as he was in Europe during World War II, during the Crusades, during every human tragedy. He was doing the same thing we were doing at every instance, loving us his creation and mourning our losses.
He can't interfere, as much as he would like to, because many, many generations ago, we said we didn't need him. We can do it alone. Like a petulant child who we try to help by tying their shoes, we trip and fall and blame him because we got hurt. But if we didn't get hurt, we take the credit because we were the ones standing.
So many innocent have fallen, who didn't even know of his existence, children perhaps, or those who were taught that things happen because of fate, or just the way of life. Do you think he doesn't remember every one and the way they each were special? Do you really think someone powerful enough to create someone as unique as you, is likely to forget you?
Some say he doesn't exist, nobody has ever seen him. He sent someone to live among us so we would see what he was like and what did we do? We put him to death, cruelly and by torture, we ~ his fellow humans ~ thought him unworthy because he wasn't what we wanted, he was humble and we couldn't elevate him, so we destroyed God's messenger, his envoy.
The same way we destroy each other today. We are also created likenesses of God. We were created to be like him, with wisdom, power, a sense of justice and an everlasting capacity to love. Everyday we tear each other up, financially, physically, mentally, in every way possible. We do nothing to demonstrate we are worthy of his love.
And yet, everyday, he lavishes us with the love we think we give ourselves, Daylight, air, water, food, time to spend on what we love, rest, beauty, variety, imagination, warmth in cool seasons, a breeze in the heat, friends who respect us, family who love us. So much, in fact, that we recklessly squander it.
It was very sad, it is still saddening, what happened there, what's happening everywhere. The saddest part is when someone thinks God had anything to do with it.
