As I contemplated the tragedy our nation faced on July 7th, I remember the tragedies that occurred before this one. Multiple shootings by cops, on cops, bombings in Paris, bombings at marathons...and the list continues. As I write this, I am listening to a song by Flame called "Surrender." Flame is a Christian rapper and the song has a line that goes, "Jesus is my white flag, I surrender right now. I'm never going to run away from you...I surrender, anchor on my ship, you hold me down." The song captures a theme I have felt before and it breaks my heart to see people refusing to surrender their pain to God.
As we encounter pain in our lives, whether from tragedy or heartbreak, our response is often to run away from God instead of towards Him. Flame offers the opposite response and encourages us to run towards God. Honestly, how can we hope to bear the weight of the world alone? How can we pretend we are strong enough, or wise enough, to carry the weight of tragedy? We are weak and broken; our response should be to cry out to the Lord in pain! Lord, why? Lord, please...
If you have ever encountered this pain, especially personal pain that comes from sin or tragedy, and you have gone to God with that pain, you know that it makes the weight so much lighter. Pain will always exist in this world due to sin, but God promises to ease our burden. Consider Philippians 4:6-7, which says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (ESV). God does not promise to always fulfill our prayers, but he does promise to provide us peace from anxiety and pain.
But this begs a further exploration of a Christian response to tragedy. If our personal response should be to cry out to God, how do we respond to others? Especially in controversial situations where people respond with outrage against something, should we as Christians join the outrage? Should we be angry at the police for Alton's death? Should we be pro-police after Dallas? So many political positions to take...As I was considering this and talking with my pastor about both events, he said something that struck me. He said that our response should be to "mourn and listen." That's it. He didn't say we should take a stance, or lash out against anyone, but to mourn the effect of sin and complete brokenness in the world and listen to those hurt. Even if that person hurt is you.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, if you take anything from this article that is surely one of many on this subject right now, please take this away from Romans 12:15; "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep" (ESV). The best response we can have as Christians, I believe, is to weep for the lost, weep for those who lost their lives, weep for those who lost family, weep for those who have hatred in their hearts...Matthew 5:22 says, "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment;" (ESV). Anger in this time is not the answer, but mourning and listening to the hurt of the world is how we show Jesus to those lost. Be a light to the world, not by being optimistic all the time, but by mourning and listening. Do that and the Holy Spirit will do the rest. Lord please bless this world and the pain in it. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, and relieve us from our burdens...
