At the time of the Newtown tragedy in the US, there were a myriad of responses. One of my friends shared this t-shirt link on Facebook:
Dear God,
Why do you allow such violence in our schools?
Signed,
A concerned student.
Dear concerned student,
I’m not allowed in schools.
God
I think it's very important that I state why I posted it.
Posting the picture was not intended to answer why the tragedy happened: I think there is no way to rationalize something that apparently involved a case of dementia. Neither was it my intention to imply that God was not with the students and teachers at the time the tragedy occurred. Nor, understandably, were the people directly involved my intended audience. I think the brokenness; the helplessness they felt can only ever be understood by those experiencing it, no matter how much we try to show empathy and compassion.
Seriously, for me it was a way to question what is going on in the world around us. In retrospect, I can see how it could come across as insensitive to those who are grieving. And that's why I want to assure that my intentions in posting the T-shirt are clear. It was my way of saying, "Wake up. Don't you see where we are headed?
We live in a world where “we’ve systematically marginalized God out of our culture by removing Him from all aspects of the public square.” When a tragedy happens, we call on Him and ask “why?” But do we have the right to?
Again, please realize, I am not saying God was not there for the victims, for the students and teachers, even for the shooter. No human action could ever hinder God from being everywhere at all times and in all places. I believe God held and comforted the children as they died; that God is with the grieving parents; that God was in the heroic actions of the teachers, principal and others who stood up to the shooter. But, again, that’s not what this was about.
Historically, the Hutterian Church was considered an alternative to mainstream society and to unchristian backward thinking and actions that pervaded it; even though we are far removed from what our forefathers practiced, I believe we cannot shirk our responsibility to show the world where we stand. I strongly feel that we need to be speaking up in a world that’s increasingly pushing God aside. We were called to be Jesus’ witnesses, to be salt, to be a light. Yes, absolutely, being a witness is modeling and living what Jesus taught but that does not mitigate the fact that we also need to speak up for the truth.
I believe that God is a God of Love. But even though He is a God of Love that does not in any way negate the fact that He is also a God of Judgment and Law and Morals. The very fact that He is Love, that He is good, must necessarily mean that He hates evil and sin because the two cannot exist together. Therefore, as our Creator, God is the one who sets the boundaries of what is right and what is wrong.
We grew up with the truths of the Bible taught to us; as Christian Hutterites, we believe we were created to bring glory to God, to give ourselves in love and Gelassenheit to serve our fellow man. We recognize that all mankind has a fundamental need for a Saviour for even all our good deeds are as filthy rags compared to God’s righteousness.
And yet, knowing all that, we are quiet. We are afraid to speak up lest we offend.
If we really believe that Jesus is the only way to God for all mankind, then by our silence, we are fools. Fools because are afraid to stretch out our necks. We would rather live our comfortable lives than go out of our way to show the way to Jesus.
We need to be pointing people to the cross; we need to be telling them that there is a God we are accountable to; we need to be calling sin “sin”. We know what is right and wrong - we know we will be held accountable for our deeds, whether they be sins of omission or of the 'flesh' or any other sin.
After the recent tragedy Involving one of our ex-community members, I realized that this is the time to be examining myself, my thoughts, my actions, my whole life. Because I am a part of this community and I wonder, what could I have done differently? I realized that a time of tragedy is the time to be asking, "what are we doing, as a society, to ensure that God's love, and with that His values and morals, are promoted and lived?”
Can we continue to quietly stand in the sidelines and watch while God is removed from all aspects of public life, conversation, and education? Or should we be speaking up? Should we be posting messages such as the T-shirt one?
I believe the only person who knows the answer to that question is the person posting the message. Only they know what their intentions are.
And in light of that, I wonder. What other messages should I be posting?
Dear God,
Why do you allow such violence in our schools?
Signed,
A concerned student.
Dear concerned student,
I’m not allowed in schools.
God
I think it's very important that I state why I posted it.
Posting the picture was not intended to answer why the tragedy happened: I think there is no way to rationalize something that apparently involved a case of dementia. Neither was it my intention to imply that God was not with the students and teachers at the time the tragedy occurred. Nor, understandably, were the people directly involved my intended audience. I think the brokenness; the helplessness they felt can only ever be understood by those experiencing it, no matter how much we try to show empathy and compassion.
Seriously, for me it was a way to question what is going on in the world around us. In retrospect, I can see how it could come across as insensitive to those who are grieving. And that's why I want to assure that my intentions in posting the T-shirt are clear. It was my way of saying, "Wake up. Don't you see where we are headed?
We live in a world where “we’ve systematically marginalized God out of our culture by removing Him from all aspects of the public square.” When a tragedy happens, we call on Him and ask “why?” But do we have the right to?
Again, please realize, I am not saying God was not there for the victims, for the students and teachers, even for the shooter. No human action could ever hinder God from being everywhere at all times and in all places. I believe God held and comforted the children as they died; that God is with the grieving parents; that God was in the heroic actions of the teachers, principal and others who stood up to the shooter. But, again, that’s not what this was about.
Historically, the Hutterian Church was considered an alternative to mainstream society and to unchristian backward thinking and actions that pervaded it; even though we are far removed from what our forefathers practiced, I believe we cannot shirk our responsibility to show the world where we stand. I strongly feel that we need to be speaking up in a world that’s increasingly pushing God aside. We were called to be Jesus’ witnesses, to be salt, to be a light. Yes, absolutely, being a witness is modeling and living what Jesus taught but that does not mitigate the fact that we also need to speak up for the truth.
I believe that God is a God of Love. But even though He is a God of Love that does not in any way negate the fact that He is also a God of Judgment and Law and Morals. The very fact that He is Love, that He is good, must necessarily mean that He hates evil and sin because the two cannot exist together. Therefore, as our Creator, God is the one who sets the boundaries of what is right and what is wrong.
We grew up with the truths of the Bible taught to us; as Christian Hutterites, we believe we were created to bring glory to God, to give ourselves in love and Gelassenheit to serve our fellow man. We recognize that all mankind has a fundamental need for a Saviour for even all our good deeds are as filthy rags compared to God’s righteousness.
And yet, knowing all that, we are quiet. We are afraid to speak up lest we offend.
If we really believe that Jesus is the only way to God for all mankind, then by our silence, we are fools. Fools because are afraid to stretch out our necks. We would rather live our comfortable lives than go out of our way to show the way to Jesus.
We need to be pointing people to the cross; we need to be telling them that there is a God we are accountable to; we need to be calling sin “sin”. We know what is right and wrong - we know we will be held accountable for our deeds, whether they be sins of omission or of the 'flesh' or any other sin.
After the recent tragedy Involving one of our ex-community members, I realized that this is the time to be examining myself, my thoughts, my actions, my whole life. Because I am a part of this community and I wonder, what could I have done differently? I realized that a time of tragedy is the time to be asking, "what are we doing, as a society, to ensure that God's love, and with that His values and morals, are promoted and lived?”
Can we continue to quietly stand in the sidelines and watch while God is removed from all aspects of public life, conversation, and education? Or should we be speaking up? Should we be posting messages such as the T-shirt one?
I believe the only person who knows the answer to that question is the person posting the message. Only they know what their intentions are.
And in light of that, I wonder. What other messages should I be posting?