Making All Things New

Sometimes I feel smothered by the darkness.  Sometimes it overwhelms me to the point of barely being able to catch my breath.  That is how I feel today.

Smothered.

Gasping.

The tragedy in Connecticut this morning absolutely threatens to strangle the life out of me.  I look at my precious babies, the ones that God has trusted me with, and my heart cries.  I want to protect them from all of life's hurts.  The bone jarring ones, like today, and even the small ones.  I don't even want to have to tell my small children what happened this morning in a 1st grade classroom, much less think about them having to endure it.  The precious babies that were killed this morning are not the only ones affected - in fact, I will dare to say it.  They are safely in the arms of Jesus.  Their parents, the other children who were there to witness it, the teachers, policemen, emergency medical teams, and the hospital personnel - they will carry this tragedy with them for the rest of their lives.  From now on, their days will be measured by "before" the tragedy and "after."  Their lives will never be the same.

Why?

Because of a gun?  There is a lot of chatter on my Facebook wall today about the 2nd Amendment and gun control.  Sometimes I wonder if the enemy just slithers around planting destruction in the hearts of his servants for the perfect moment in time.  In fact, I'm pretty sure he does.  Our country is in chaos right now.  It is divided.  Many issues are hot - and gun control is one of the hottest.  Today, it is an inferno.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say something that some will disagree with.  Gun control is not the answer to our problems.  A gun is not what killed those precious babies this morning.  A individual killed them.  An individual who cared nothing about the law and nothing about human life. An individual who needed Jesus. We have a sin problem in our world, not a weapon problem.  Weapons have existed since the fall.  Cain killed Abel, we don't know with what, but I'm sure it wasn't a gun.  Murder has been in the hearts of mankind since well before any of us walked the earth.  There is nothing new under the sun.

I will grant that things seem to have escalated.  Satan knows his time is short and he is a roaring lion - seeking whom he may devour.  Killing a classroom full of precious children takes degradation to a whole new level.  A level that I honestly can not wrap my brain around.  I don't want to wrap my brain around it.  The thought of what those moms and dads are going through right now and the terror that those children felt leaves me completely breathless.  I simply can not fathom the horror of it all.

Our world is dark.  Our culture is devoid of conscience.  I am tired of it all.  Personally, I hope the Mayans are right, but I know they are not.  The Bible tells us that no man, not even the Son Himself knows the day or the hour.  Sadly, if I were a betting person, I would bet the farm we will still be here on the 22nd.

I don't know why God hasn't returned, and I don't pretend to.  I do know that He is patient and waits for the full number of the redeemed to come in.  I do know that He meets us in our tragedies and He comes into the midst of our heart break.  I do know that Christmas is about redeeming humanity.  God with us.  Immanuel.  Born into a world full of murder and strife and heartbreak.  A world that we can't fathom because as Americans we have never had to fathom it.  In my lifetime I have not witnessed the world crazy out of control - until now.  What I have done is study history - a lot.  Going on 14 years of teaching it year after year.  Throughout recent history, people from almost every generation have lived through their world spiraling out of control - The Civil War - the bloodiest war on our soil, coupled with the hate and torture of slavery.  World War 1, the "great" war, crazy out of control bombing, death, and destruction with just about every country involved.  The Holocaust - millions of people incinerated for no crime other than their religion.  These are just a few examples of things that directly affected our country.

All over the world, past and present are countless tragedies going on second by second.  Martyrs being tortured and killed for their belief in Christ, ancient Rome and the tragedies that happened there. The human trafficking industry that turns innocent children into prostitutes overnight.  The world that Jesus was born into was dark, cruel, and seemingly without conscience.  Much like today.

As I sit here right now and watch my precious two year old playing, my ten year old baking cookies, and my three teenagers milling around the house, I am overwhelmed with a feeling of inadequacy.  I can't keep them safe.  I can't.  That scares me too death.  I don't want them to grow up in a world full of darkness.  But, Jesus speaks to that small place in my heart.  In fact, He spoke to it this morning, before I even heard of the tragedy.  He spoke through something I heard on Christian radio on my way home from running errands.  He said, "Be still."  I am still in control.  When the unthinkable happens, I am there.  When the whole world seems to have gone crazy, I am there.  I am working out my plan for redemption.  The third verse of Joy to the World says, "No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground.  He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found."  There is no doubt that we live under the curse.  It is a burden that all of humankind have borne since the fall and we will bear it until He returns to make all things new.  What we have to remember is that He is coming back and He will make all things new.  When circumstances and tragedies like today threaten to overwhelm, He is still on the throne.  We have to hold on to Him - it is our only choice.  Even when we don't understand His ways, even when we don't know what He is doing.  Our answer must be with Peter's when Jesus asked him, "Do you want to go away, too?"  Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God."

Friends, with all of my heart I believe that He is the Holy One of God.  He does hold the very words of life and one day, one wonderful day, He will return and make all things new.

Oh, come quickly Lord Jesus.  Come quickly.