Unorthodox Thoughts on the 14th Anniversary of 9/11

 

14 years ago I was in my dorm room and a guy named Jay was banging on all the dorm rooms in his boxers saying, "this is World War II man!"  I'll never forget that day.  We gathered around the television and most of us unable to connect with the severity of the events.

Over a dozen years later the question always returns; namely, "If God is all loving and all powerful how could he allow those events to have happened?" This is called the "Problem of Evil" and it is fairly easy to answer.

First of all, God, by definition is transcendent; that means, God is not limited to what we are capable of understanding.  I think the first thing we, humans, need to swallow is the fact that we can't and never will fully understand "God."  Questions like, "who created God?" and "can he create a rock so heavy that he can't lift it?" are in fact just smokescreens to cover up the evil in our hearts.  Seriously, nobody is truly searching for answers to those questions.

Deep down we want answers to "how can I overcome this lust problem?" or "how can I not get angry at my 2-year-old for spilling milk?"  Every single human being wants and desires for the gospel message to be true; the message of salvation.  Salvation from hell and from the things that hold us down today.  These things can be horrendous memories of the past, current bitterness towards others or self, self hate, the hatred of others, constant irritability with people and situations or the constant spirit of criticism of all things and people just to name a few.  People want and desire salvation.  Their soul longs for it and they can't put their finger on it.

So, how could a loving and powerful God allow the events of 9/11 to happen?  The answer: because God has given man free will.   Whoever planned the events of 9/11 was able to plan and execute because God allowed them to have free will.  God also allowed every single person in the building to accept or reject him.  A child of God who dies in a burning flame or building actually lives on.

And, where was God during 9/11?  He was there, here, everywhere.  Tomorrow is not a place God knows about it is a place where he is.  He is not limited to time and space.  Wherever you can think, that's where he is.

And now take this conversation introspective.  Take all the thoughts you have about God - especially the complaints and gripes, thoughts of how could he to this and that - and set those aside.  Do you have anybody in your life who loves you?  Are you completely honest with others and or your spouse?  Or do you live in guilt and shame?  All of these may be blindspots at the moment.  And blindspots will always remind unknown to us until we allow others to point them out.  But if we keep people at a distance, we remain in ignorance.

What if we started there?  What if all the questioning about God was just a cover up for some deep hurts and memories of the past?

My prayer is that you would be so loved by someone that you would be willing to let others in and love you for who you are.  And in the end you would realize that it was God all along trying to love you through the body of Believers here and now.

    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.