Boston, 4/15

I feel like I have been punched in the gut.

Punched by a bad guy who was hiding around a corner in a dark alley.

Punched when I least expected it.  I never saw it coming.  And it put me down for the count...

...all because of what happened in Boston yesterday at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. 

I find myself wishing it was all just a bad dream...bombs going off in the midst of a happy throng of people who were there to cheer on friends and family members running in the race.

Innocent bystanders.

Hurt, maimed, killed.  On a beautiful day.  A day that held such promise for so many. 

That is, until the awful explosion rocked the ground in Boston, and shattered windows for miles around, shattering lives at the same time.

Immediately my mind flashed back to another beautiful day in another major U.S. city...that city and date were New York, 9/11.

Now, we add another city and date to that infamous list...Boston, 4/15.

Right now, we ask the same questions we asked back then...

Who?
Why?
How?

And...What kind of person could do such a thing?

I don't have an answer for that one.

What happened is so beyond the pale of reason that, even if law enforement officials eventually identify a perpetrator and can offer some type of motivation, however mislead and off-the-wall, it will still stretch our ability to understand even a particle of it.

In the end, it goes beyond human explanation and understanding.

It is better dealt with on a spritual level, I think.

On a spiritual level, in view of this tragedy, and linked in our minds with 9/11, Sandy Hook, Aurora, Colorado, Columbine, and even going all the way back to Oklahoma City, we have to admit that evil exists in this world simply for evil's sake.

We must admit that Satan works in and among people to leave a trail of destruction in his wake, and in the process, creates a path to doubt about God's role in these tragedies.

Doubt about His ability to stop or change these attacks before they happen.

Doubt about Who is really in control, and how much control He really has.

As Christians, we cannot allow Satan to win this battle for our minds and spirits.  We cannot allow even these most horrible events to shake our faith in a good God who wants only good for His children.

Instead, we need to stay strong in Him.

We need to have confidence that, even what Satan means for evil, God can turn into good.

It happened on the cross.

And it will happen again as the smoke clears in Boston.

There will be stories of life-saving miracles that took place yesterday, even as the ground still shook.

There will be stories of amazing recoveries from devastating injuries.

There will be stories of support and strength given to those who lost a loved one in these blasts.

There will be heroes identified who ran into the face of danger and death to help others.

And for those of us who are believers, there will be a day when nothing like this can ever happen again...

...a day when Jesus reigns during an eternal Kingdom, when there will be no more tears, no more sickness or hurt, no more evil, no more Satan.

Only love and kindness and goodness and joy and peace.

In that assurance, we can always find our victory.

As I wrote on a facebook post yesterday...

Time to grieve again.
Time to be angry, again.
Time to seek answers, again.
Time to pray for the victims, again.
Time to hope that it just won't happen again, again.

When Christ comes again, it will never happen again.

Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Amen.