Comfort in a Time of Terror
September 16, 2001
Dear Friends,
For the past few weeks we have been writing about the role of Jesus as our mediator. However, with the awful events of the past week, it seemed fitting to switch to the topic on everyone’s mind.
People are looking for words of comfort in this time of distress. Every week, a church near us has a billboard with some pithy saying like “Why don’t you come over to our house before the game?” This week the sign read “Where was God on Tuesday?” I am sure that if the pastor of that church doesn’t know, then the parishioners won’t know either.
In times such as these, people are ready for God. They have questions. They have fears. They want answers. It is a time that is ripe for preaching God’s truth. Think about how many times in Scripture that tragedy or terror have resulted in repentance and conversion. Jonah went to Ninevah to tell them they were about to be destroyed. They repented and averted disaster. During the persecutions of the first century, the ecclesia grew by leaps and bounds.
The answer to the question about where God was on Tuesday is one which few want to hear. “When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?”, the prophet Amos rhetorically asks. This is both frightening and comforting at the same time. It is frightening to know that God, the creator of the flood in the days of Noah and destroyer of His own temple in Jerusalem through the armies of the Kingdom of Men, is a God who can be manifested in such horrible and tragic events. On the other hand, it is comforting to know that the same God is the loving Father who gave His own son so that we might live.
Many today do not want to hear that we worship a God who describes Himself as “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.” (Is. 45:7) The truth is that no matter how sobering that truth is, we are blessed that the capricious gods of the Greeks and Romans do not exist who killed for sport and were indifferent to the plight of humanity. Ours is the God of Israel who says “‘For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,’ declares the Lord GOD. ‘Therefore, repent and live.’” (Ezekiel 18:32) Even so, in these comforting words we understand the sobering alternative to “repent and live.”
Why exactly did the events of this past week occur? No one knows for sure. Could it be leading to the return of Jesus Christ to the earth? There seems to be obvious connections to circumstances surrounding Jerusalem – the key to Bible prophecy. Could it be a wake up call to the United States? I heard more talk about God in the non-blasphemous sense this week than probably ever in my life. In any event, for whatever reason all of this has occurred, at the personal level, each one of us has an opportunity to “give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15)
Perhaps we are entering the days described by Jesus when he said “there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” (Luke 21:25,26) In these days, we can best serve others and our Heavenly Father if we follow the advice of the apostle Paul. “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him, that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed.”
May the grace and peace of Jesus Christ be with you all,
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