The Resurrection and The Life

 I am in the middle of my Zambulance research adventure, and I will let you all know about that in my next post, after I have completed the journey.  But so far it has been amazing and the prayers have been working... so keep it up!  But that is not what I want to post about now.  This post is going to be a little different and here are some things you might want to know:
First of all, this is going to be a long post.  Second, it does not have much at all to do with Zambia.  Third, although completely sincere, you might consider it to be preachy.  If you are still interested... Read on.

A Japanese woman mourns the loss of her mother after firefighters recovered the body from the rubble. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)



When tragedy strikes, the news of it travels fast, like waves rippling out from the epicenter of the disaster.  As the news of such tragedy is heard by those on the fringes, those relatively untouched by the tragedy, they are quickly faced with their limited ability to do anything to remedy the situation.  They respond with head shakes, prayers, words of sympathy that seem only fall to the ground, the offering of support, and occasionally going as far as traveling to the site of the tragedy to do whatever they can to offer some relief or help to the victims.  But time passes... and those on the fringes move on with their lives.  And the news of the tragedy goes from shocking, to expected, to non-existent.  For such individuals, time serves to make the tragedy "a thing of the past."  But it cannot do so for everyone.  Despite what people say, there are wounds so deep that even time cannot fully heal (only an eternity).  And those at the epicenter of the tragedy are left having to relearn how to live in the aftermath.  They are only all too aware that things will never go back to “the way they were.” Although time allows for some adjustment, it does not ever fully remove the sting.  They must face a new, undesired reality and in the midst of shifted landscape and the rubble of the life they once knew, they are left searching to see what remains… to see what is still unmoved… unchanged.  They are left to rebuild.  They must rediscover hope, for the measure that sustained them before will surely prove to be insufficient. They must relearn truth, for what was easily accepted before will now have to stand trial in light of new evidence.  No longer can they survive on the truth and hope of yesterday.  That is a luxury that only those on the outskirts of a tragedy can maintain.  Instead, they must either dig deeper to the very roots of their previously proclaimed source of hope and truth to discover if it remains intact, or they must abandon it altogether in search of a new source to become the anchor of their soul.

Now my purpose in writing this is not to convince those who find themselves on the “fringes” to never move on with their life after they hear news of a tragedy.  Indeed, we should respond when tragedy arises, but it is impossible by our own efforts to somehow place ourselves in the shoes of those struck by the tragedy and it would be foolish to try to do so every time there is a tragedy.  No, I am writing this because if you have not already experienced a tragedy in your life, you likely will before your time on earth is complete.  You may not find yourself at the epicenter but at least close enough to experience the shaking first-hand.  And in that moment you will find yourself searching… searching for answers...  searching for truth....  searching for hope.  My prayer is that you will find a rock on which to stand, a rock that doesn’t move even if the mountains fall into the sea around you.  I believe there is only one such Rock, one such Truth, one such Hope… which is that God is good and Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.  In the midst of tragedy, God is still good.  He is not the author of evil.  “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I (Jesus) have come to give you the most abundant life.” (John 10:10)  “Do not be deceived my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of light with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”  (James 1:16-17)  God does not bring tragedy.  He works to bring good and redemption into the midst of the tragedies of this fallen world.  The greatest tragedy the world has ever known is the separation of man from God by the original sin.  Mankind was left helpless and hopeless, yet God humbly sent His Son, Jesus to become a man and walk among us- to reconnect us to God.  Yet the people he was sent to rejected him, choosing to follow religion and tradition over truly “walking with God.”  So they took the hand of reconciliation that God had extended and nailed it to a cross.  Mankind spit in the face of God and killed His Son.  Yet God took this injustice and tragedy and displayed true love, forgiveness, and mercy- instead of pouring out wrath and judgment, He took all of our sins and shortcomings and placed them upon His own Son.  God chose redemption over retribution.  And out of the darkest hours of death and tragedy… Jesus arose.  And it is because of this that in the midst of the death and tragedy we face, we can endure.  Because there is a resurrection.  And Jesus accomplished what time could not- He took away the final sting.  And when the last of the mountains have fallen and the things of this world have all been shaken and time finds an end, those who share this hope shall rise with Jesus.  And then tragedy itself will become “a thing of the past.”

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who believes in me shall never die.” 
John 11:25-26