Two bombs went off near the finish line of the race. Later, another bomb went off near the John F. Kennedy Library. Three people have died and over one hundred and seventy were hurt, including over twenty-five people who needed a leg amputated. The bombs were filled with nails, pellets, and ball bearings. They were designed to inflict maximum injury on their victims.
These were runners. One moment jubilant, having finished a 26 mile race. The next moment, stunned and shocked. Many will only have one leg.
Where is God in all of this? Is this His judgement? Was He asleep? Was He busy doing something else? Why didn't He stop this? What are we to make of tragedies like this?
Do we hide? Where do we look for security? Will the government give it to us through more police presence, cameras on every street corner, or more careful screening of people? Do we need to be more aware of our surroundings, looking for suspicious duffel bags and weird people everywhere we go? Should we throw up our hands in despair?
"Fear not, for I am with You." This is what God says to us. Jesus said "In this world, you will have trouble but be happy because I have overcome the world." What!?!?
There is no security in this world. No government can give it to us. No spouse can give it to us. Money cannot. Religion cannot. Not science, medicine, or technology.
There is no room or place in this world where we are completely safe. Our heart may fail us. We can contract a disease. An accident can occur or an enemy can carry out evil deeds against us.
Jesus said "Whoever hears my word and puts it into practice is like a man who builds his house on the rock. When the storms come, his house stands.." When the storms come... Jesus told us that storms would come. He tells us to build our lives on His Word. He says "Whoever tries to save his life will lose it." If we spend our energy worried about how to keep from dying and ensure we survive, we will lose our lives.
Jesus said "Life is more than food, shelter, money, and clothes." Life is more than our hearts continuing to beat. Life is more than just physical.
"I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet will he live." Is Jesus saying that we will never die? Yes and no. He is not saying that we will never have our hearts stop beating and cease to have brain waves. He is saying that you, the real "you", will live, if you trust Him to take care of your life.
You are a spirit who has a body. Not the other way around. You are eternal even though your body will one day die. Jesus said "Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body. Instead, be afraid of Him who can kill the body and send your soul to hell."
Jesus is telling us to care more about what God thinks about us than what some terror group or malevolent individual can do to our bodies through bombs. He wants us to be more mindful of God's presence than of suspicious duffel bags.
God was present in every moment of the bombings. He knows who did it and why. His angels were there, guarding and protecting. He has a purpose for this event. "He causes all things to work together for good..." It does not say that He causes all good things. "Many are the plans of a man's heart but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails..."
So how do we respond? First, we trust God. We know He is in control of His world - the 7 billion humans, the animals, the insects, the energy, all of it. Nothing happens without His knowledge. "He knows the number of hairs on your head." God's grasp of the details are beyond our comprehension.
Second, we trust what God tells us about our world and the people in it. "Be sober minded because your enemy, the Devil, is looking for someone to devour..." God tells us we have an enemy who wants to destroy us. He's not human. The devil does not sleep. He is the "god of this world."
The Devil deceives the world through manipulating the minds and hearts of people. He's that voice telling you to kill yourself because everyone would be better off without you. He is the author of false religions that advocate violence. Satan does it in millions of ways all over the world. His purpose is clear: devour and destroy what God loves - men and women, boys and girls.
Third, we become the hands and feet of Jesus showing love and compassion to this broken world. We pray. We run to the hurting and the bleeding. We clean their wounds and nurse them back to health. We give time, money, and energy. We put our arms around people who are weeping and scared. We show the world that God loves them and He has not abandoned them. We cry with them.
Jesus has given us His Spirit that energizes His body, the Church - that's us - to be "Jesus" in Boston, on 9/11, in DWI accidents, or wherever tragedy occurs in our family, friends, or neighbors. They may not make the headlines but are no less painful and devastating.
Ask God to show you how to look at tragedy through His eyes. You'll be amazed at what you will see and the impact it will make on your heart.
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