Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
While the parents, family and friends of the loved ones that were killed in the recent school shooting in Florida are anguished, one may ask 'How does God’s Plans figure there?’ ‘Where is the future and hope of those who were killed?’ ‘How good a future can it be for the parents of the students, and the spouses of the school personnel, who were killed there?’ Makes us wonder, for isn’t killing an act of evil? Why would God, who in Genesis commanded us to be fruitful and multiply, determine that these lives be taken from us? To paraphrase from a poem by John Donne, which can be seen as a counter-corollary to God’s commandment in Genesis, any person’s death diminishes us, because we are involved in mankind, so we therefore need not ask for whom the bell tolls, since it is obviously tolling for us.
We have been predestined according to God’s Will. Matthew 6:10 says, “Your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. It narrows down to Proverbs 16:9 which says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
Now you can say that I can quote from the Scriptures and from poems until hell freezes over, but that’s not going to bring back those who were killed, so what’s the sense in talking about it? They’re gone, and we can’t bring them back to continue to enjoy life as they have been doing, and to be their parent’s pride, their spouse’s better (or just other) half, their friend’s buddies, and girlfriends and boyfriends, the team coach and the person’s involvement for the good of the community and elsewhere.
The answer is, our faith in God has to endure in order for us to dwell in His House forever. Incidents like these can well cause some to say, ‘See? There is no God. If God is good, He wouldn’t have allowed this to happen. He could have caused the killer’s AR-15 to jam, instead of permitting the bullets to spray around the school. He could have willed the Uber driver who took him there, to ask the killer what was in the bag he had on him, in which the firearm was in. He could have arranged that the killer be stopped outside of the school from going in, the AR-15 still in the bag. He could have done something.’
But as we continue to have faith in God, we have to make certain presumptions which in fact were breathed by God into the Scriptures, so once again we look there. So here goes…
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Similarly, Ezra 8:22 says, “…The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him.” Proverbs 3: 5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
On the basis of those passages alone, God’s purpose is toward the good, even if we may not understand God’s means toward that purpose. We can only guess as to what He has in mind. Perhaps His taking of those lives may cause the rest of us to show more of our love and appreciation of those who are still among us and take more seriously the second commandment of Jesus. Perhaps he is testing the faith of the survivors of the loved ones to see if they would waiver and turn away from Him because of what happened, or if they would continue to maintain their trust in him. Perhaps He is testing the faith of the rest of us to see if our faith in Him will endure and be strengthened as a result of our continuing understanding of God, limited though it may be, and of what He expects from us.
But in the meantime, we can take solace in the hope that those who were killed, who had their own faith in God, are now dwelling in God’s House, that wonderful place, a place where the rest of us aspire to. And the survivors of the loved ones, who have a similar faith in Him, can take solace in the hope that someday, when they leave the earth, they will go up there as well to see their loved ones again and to be with them again.
In the meantime, for the survivors of the loved ones and for the rest of us who continue to live on earth, we strive to live in fulfillment of God’s Plans for us, according to His purpose for us, and we need only know that whatever purpose He has for us, is toward the good.
While the parents, family and friends of the loved ones that were killed in the recent school shooting in Florida are anguished, one may ask 'How does God’s Plans figure there?’ ‘Where is the future and hope of those who were killed?’ ‘How good a future can it be for the parents of the students, and the spouses of the school personnel, who were killed there?’ Makes us wonder, for isn’t killing an act of evil? Why would God, who in Genesis commanded us to be fruitful and multiply, determine that these lives be taken from us? To paraphrase from a poem by John Donne, which can be seen as a counter-corollary to God’s commandment in Genesis, any person’s death diminishes us, because we are involved in mankind, so we therefore need not ask for whom the bell tolls, since it is obviously tolling for us.
We have been predestined according to God’s Will. Matthew 6:10 says, “Your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. It narrows down to Proverbs 16:9 which says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
Now you can say that I can quote from the Scriptures and from poems until hell freezes over, but that’s not going to bring back those who were killed, so what’s the sense in talking about it? They’re gone, and we can’t bring them back to continue to enjoy life as they have been doing, and to be their parent’s pride, their spouse’s better (or just other) half, their friend’s buddies, and girlfriends and boyfriends, the team coach and the person’s involvement for the good of the community and elsewhere.
The answer is, our faith in God has to endure in order for us to dwell in His House forever. Incidents like these can well cause some to say, ‘See? There is no God. If God is good, He wouldn’t have allowed this to happen. He could have caused the killer’s AR-15 to jam, instead of permitting the bullets to spray around the school. He could have willed the Uber driver who took him there, to ask the killer what was in the bag he had on him, in which the firearm was in. He could have arranged that the killer be stopped outside of the school from going in, the AR-15 still in the bag. He could have done something.’
But as we continue to have faith in God, we have to make certain presumptions which in fact were breathed by God into the Scriptures, so once again we look there. So here goes…
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Similarly, Ezra 8:22 says, “…The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him.” Proverbs 3: 5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
On the basis of those passages alone, God’s purpose is toward the good, even if we may not understand God’s means toward that purpose. We can only guess as to what He has in mind. Perhaps His taking of those lives may cause the rest of us to show more of our love and appreciation of those who are still among us and take more seriously the second commandment of Jesus. Perhaps he is testing the faith of the survivors of the loved ones to see if they would waiver and turn away from Him because of what happened, or if they would continue to maintain their trust in him. Perhaps He is testing the faith of the rest of us to see if our faith in Him will endure and be strengthened as a result of our continuing understanding of God, limited though it may be, and of what He expects from us.
But in the meantime, we can take solace in the hope that those who were killed, who had their own faith in God, are now dwelling in God’s House, that wonderful place, a place where the rest of us aspire to. And the survivors of the loved ones, who have a similar faith in Him, can take solace in the hope that someday, when they leave the earth, they will go up there as well to see their loved ones again and to be with them again.
In the meantime, for the survivors of the loved ones and for the rest of us who continue to live on earth, we strive to live in fulfillment of God’s Plans for us, according to His purpose for us, and we need only know that whatever purpose He has for us, is toward the good.