You Can't Handle the Truth!

It is 9/11 tomorrow. One certainly can't go through this day without some reflection. When I stop to think about the events of that day I naturally think about the topic of suffering, suffering on a big scale, not just that event but the suffering that takes place in every city, every country, in every life.

For many people the question is-- if there is a God then why so much suffering? There are many fine philosophers who have tackled this question, Alvin Plantinga, being one of my favorites. But on a personal level I have found myself thinking about this from a slightly different angle then before.

My summer reading included many stories of great suffering. In each of these stories some of the people lived and others perished. We usually resort to asking the question why did so and so have to die. Why didn't God spare them? This summer I found myself asking why did God grant that this person survive? I've begun to think that we view our lives with an attitude of entitlement. We believe in our core that we are entitled to life. But truly, life is a gift to us from the creator. When he has stepped in and spared our lives it is a gift that should fill us with great thankfulness. Whether we live or whether we die it is all in His hands. That is something I have no doubt of.

This summer I also heard two amazing personal life stories. One story involved a family who survived a Japanese concentration camp in Indonesia. The other story was that of a Vermont farm family who endured the deaths of several of their children, accidents, health issues and financial troubles. Both of these stories had a theme of a very strong prayer life running through them. This time when I listened to the concentration camp stories I found myself not asking why God had allowed many of His own to perish in there but being thankful in the fact that He allowed some to live through it. It is in no way saying that some were more deserving than others, or that God looked more favorably on this person over that one, but it is an example of unexplainable grace. That sometimes God in his love and mercy does not allow the lion to open his mouth and devour His child, or not allow the fiery furnace to consume. Sometimes, even in the horrors of concentration camps, or events like 9/11, some have been spared in rather miraculous ways. I believe in some small way it is one way that God keeps reminding us that yes, He is still present and yes, He is still in charge. It also serves as a reminder of what lies in store for His children in the end. In the end there will be life eternal. There will be complete healing. But for now He gives us glimpses of it through His gracious deliverances. These stories help encourage us to go on for we are once again reminded of what lies ahead.

As far as asking why to the question of suffering, I have this funny picture in my mind of Jack Nicholsen yelling that famous movie line "You can't handle the truth!" In a sense that is a very good response to all of us who stand wagging our fingers at God demanding that He tell us why. The fact is, we can't handle it, literally. In philosophical terms, we simply don't have the epistemological equipment to handle the answers were God to provide them. Jesus himself on the cross asked why he was forsaken. If you notice closely there is no answer given.

Richard Wurbrand tells this story: "A sufferer once came to a pastor and asked him many questions. The pastor answered, 'Kneel here in church and ask Jesus for the answers.' The man replied, 'Do you really think I will hear a voice from heaven?' 'No,' said the pastor, 'but by keeping quiet in prayer for several hours before God, you will realize that you can go along without answers to all your problems. This would have been Jesus' answer, and it will quiet you.' You do not need more than His peace, which passes all understanding. You do not need both peace and understanding, for understanding presupposes qualifications that most of us do not have."

So as I prepare to face all the 9/11 memories that will come tomorrow I will face them with peace and with hope. As for understanding, well I've come to understand that I may not have that understanding in this lifetime and well, that's okay, Peace and hope are enough.