Faith in the Face of Tragedy

© Dr. Gary D. Lemmons, March 4, 2007

The tornado that swept across the southeast this week, slamming into Enterprise High School in Enterprise, Alabama, and the horrific accident in Atlanta of the charter bus carrying the Bluffton University Baseball Team of Bluffton, Ohio, remind us of the shortness of life and the uncertainty of its continuance.  Collectively, some 12 or more young people lost their lives in these two tragedies.

It is in the face of events such as these that one is called upon to test one’s faith in the goodness of the Divine Creator and to grapple with the universally recognized “great question”…WHY?

Philosophers throughout the ages have offered speculations as to the cause of such happenings.  These rationales have ranged from deeply metaphysical ponderings, having to do with the balance of the universe, to simplistic pontifications that …”that is just the way it is!”

Taking into account my life experiences, I have come to believe that there is an overall “divine plan” for creation that includes all humankind, collectively, and each person as an individual.  In the fullness of time, that “divine plan” will be worked out and will come to pass as the Great Architect of the Universe has designed it.  At the same time, I am convinced that the decisions we make in our lives from day to day are not determined or predestined.  I believe that we have total “free will” and that the responsibility of the choices that we make rests upon us.  However, ultimately, all those choices will result in our arriving at the destination determined for us by the Creator.

So, how then should we live our lives?

First, we must find a place to put our faith.  We must seek out Deity or God and place our trust therein.  This is an act that each person must do alone.  I cannot do it for you, nor can you for me. Without this act, all else is naught.

Second, I believe that we should be cautious but not fearful.  In other words, I don’t believe we should be afraid to cross the street, but we should look both ways before we step off the curb.

Third, I believe that we should endeavor to always do our best. Upon whatever we are engaged, we ought to give it our most proficient effort.  If it is not worth doing our best, it is not worth doing.

Fourth, I believe that we should endeavor to always be conscious of the fact that we may be living the final moments of our earthly existence.  That being true, it should be an incentive to us to treat each person as we would want to be remembered by that person.

Our hearts go out to the families of the young people who were victims this week.  May God bless and fill the voids filled in each of these homes.