God in the Theater

Where was God when a young man walked into a theater showing of The Dark Knight Rises and began to shoot?  Isn’t that the question we ask when things like this happen?  What a terrible tragedy that seems so senseless and evil. 

Since the shooting, I’ve read response after response of religious and secular people alike giving their opinions of who and what is to blame for this event; as well as trying to explain how and why this could happen.  Many of those questions and blame are aimed at the God who let it all transpire.

While God doesn’t need me to defend Him, I do think it’s helpful to try to understand the world we live in and God’s part in it.

Who’s to blame?  That’s easy; the young man doing the shooting made a choice.  Going all the way back to Adam and Eve, God has given us a choice.  Rather than creating robots programmed to love Him, God made us with the capacity to decide to do our own thing.  The consequences of our choices can affect not only us, but others; and this has been going on for millennia. 

James 1 says, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”  God is not the originator of evil acts, but His desire for real love from us requires Him to offer us freedom to sin.

So where was God?  There in the theater.  God has never promised that life would be easy but He did promise to be with us.  And He’s not only there; He’s working on us and in us.  Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  That’s not an “Everything happens for a reason…” cliché; it’s a reality that God can be in the midst of pain and suffering working to heal.  His desire is for good for all of us.

I wish I could say I understand all that God does and doesn’t do, but the truth is, I don’t.  God, the creator of the universe knows and sees beyond anything that we can understand.  How amazing is it that He chooses to invite us into relationship with Him?  So I choose to trust Him in the midst of tragedy.  My prayer is that you do too.