Tiny Graces, God IN Us

“For we do not have a High Priest [Jesus] who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

The terrorist attacks in Boston last week — the first in its long history — sent shock waves through the community. Their visual and visceral impact will stay with its citizens for years to come. Amid the shock, grief and anger, questions of God’s involvement or lack thereof have inevitably surfaced.

Where was God? Why did He let this happen? Does God care?

Within the chaos, the mayhem, the senseless deaths and injuries, if you looked close enough you could see Jesus. In fact ... He was everywhere.

I saw Jesus' heart ... in the heroic men and women rushing to minister to those injured by the explosion – putting their own safety at risk to help the wounded and the frightened by offering whatever they could – a bandage, a cell phone, a cup of orange juice … a hug.

I saw the feet of Jesus ... at the finish line as throngs of marathon runners who, once they finished the race, kept running to Mass General Hospital to donate blood. So many came to donate that the Red Cross had to turn some of them away offering the following tweet of gratitude, “Thanks to the generosity of volunteer blood donors, there is currently enough blood on the shelves to meet demand. TY! RedCrossEasternMA.”

I heard Jesus’ voice ... at the TD Banknorth Garden as more than 18,000 Boston Bruins fans sang one of the most poignant renditions of the national anthem in the history of our country.

I saw Jesus disguised ... as a police officer carrying two gallons of milk to a family in Watertown who had run out but were ordered to stay in their homes as law enforcement officials conducted a manhunt in their town. And it was in the arms of a police officer that the children, who lived in the Watertown home where the perpetuator, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was hiding, were carried to safety.

I saw Jesus’ hands ... among all the Boston hospital care workers who were asked to work tirelessly around the clock for days and days caring for the nearly 300 people who were wounded. In particular, the Beth Israel medical staff who were asked to care for the bleeding and nearly unconscious Dzhokhar Tsarnaev after his arrest. Doctors and nurses tending to the very man that just a few days prior had bombed the city with his brother. Yes, Jesus was there ... in His scrubs.

As countless numbers of local and state policeman, military, and FBI agents came together in perfect unity to protect a city, Jesus was there ... in their midst ... as where there is unity the second person of the Triune Godhead is present.

It is easy during a time of sudden destruction and disarray to wonder where God is. We would do well to heed the advice of Fred Rodgers from the 60’s iconic children’s show Mister Rodgers Neighborhood. In his, The Mister Rogers Parenting Book he offers this sage counsel to parents trying to explain tragedies to their children, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’"

I would take this advice one step further. When you see scary things look for Jesus. He is there in the common everyday people who are administering His grace and love to others in a time of need.

Where was God? He was there in Boston on April 15. He was there in every runner that finished that race at a Red Cross donation center, every spectator that bent down to help someone, every law enforcement officer that put his/her life on the line, every hospital worker that bandaged a wound, and every person who uttered a prayer.

Quite simply ... Jesus was everywhere. 
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10 Touching Acts of Kindness at the Boston Marathon 

Justice ... Interrupted

So, here we are. Forty years since women won the right to abort their babies and we sit on the precipice of another watershed ruling from the Supreme Court. On the docket this time: same-sex marriage.

“This is the new calamity,” laments evangelical John Piper. “Christians, more clearly than others, can see the tidal wave of pain that is on the way. Sin carries in it its own misery.” 

Talk show host Rush Limbaugh believes we got to this point due to linguistics, “I maintain to you that we lost the issue when we started allowing the word ‘marriage’ to be bastardized and redefined by simply adding words to it – because marriage is one thing, and it was not established on the basis of discrimination. It wasn’t established on the basis of denying people anything … Marriage is not a tradition that a bunch of people concocted to be mean to other people with. But we allowed the left to have people believe that it was structured that way.”

When the Supreme Court hears all the evidence to determine whether it should legalize same-sex marriage, the justices will be working in the shadow of a 40-year-old decision: Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion. “They thought they were resolving a contentious issue by taking it out of the political process but ended up perpetuating it,” John C. Eastman, the chairman of the National Organization for Marriage and a law professor at Chapman University, said of the justices who decided the abortion case. “The lesson they should draw is that when you are moving beyond the clear command of the Constitution, you should be very hesitant about shutting down a political debate.”

We are at a major crossroads in the history of humanity as this decision looms. Homosexuality has always existed since man has walked the earth and women have always had the right to do whatever they want to their own bodies – pregnant or not. However, no one before us saw the need to legalize either act.

It is time to face the facts. We live in an era where the number one cause of death is no longer a disease. More than 50 million babies are aborted annually worldwide by conservative estimates. This is roughly the population of England. We are killing a nation of people every year. Let that sink in for a moment. An entire nation … every year.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we are on the verge of legalizing a union between two adults that cannot procreate.

Many Christians say if gay marriage is legalized then God’s judgment will fall. I say it is already here. Murder on one end; inability to procreate on the other. If you do the math that equals annihilation. God needs to do nothing.

The reality that these two rulings could potentially occur 40 years apart is worrisome as the number 40 in the Bible is used by God to represent a period of testing or judgment. The 40 days of rain in the days of the flood were the judgments of God. The 40 years that the Israelites spent in the wilderness were also the judgments of God. Egypt was left desolate for 40 years because of God's judgments.

Abortion was passed with the expressed purpose of “helping” women safely terminate a pregnancy if their life was in danger or if they were a victim of rape or incest. Today, 86 percent of abortions are performed out of convenience. Planned Parenthood views abortion as an alternative contraceptive and offers an abortion pill that women can take at home to end a pregnancy within the first nine weeks. It is one of the most routinely performed surgeries worldwide and is as common as an appendectomy. I think we can agree we have seen God’s judgments within all the ugliness that is abortion.

Yet, what have we learned?  Not much. Even Boy George, the English singer-songwriter of the 80’s mega pop band “Culture Club” and open homosexual admits that marriage is “probably too conservative for most gays.” But the cry rings out to legalize a union that God calls an abomination.

We are treading on dangerous ground. We are reaping what we are sowing and the harvest is corruption.

Nevertheless, there are no signs of the gay marriage movement slowing down. With that, I echo John Piper’s closing sentiments on this issue, “This is what I am writing for. Not political action, but love for the name of God and compassion for the city of destruction. 'My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law (Psalm 119:136).'”