I have been thinking about the slaughter of those school kids in Connecticut. Right now, there is wailing in so many homes where a child did the everyday sort of thing, he left for school, but didn't come home. And even in those homes where the children returned safely, what horrors. Consider the fears of parents who once thought that sending their kids to school was just a normal part of life. Will it ever be that again? The reality of the what ifs ('What if it was my child who would never return?') will oppress many. And then, think about some seven or eight year old who saw his best friend explode into a mass of blood and guts. How does a little kid deal with that? What happened in Connecticut is just evil, completely and horribly evil.
So, how do we respond to this? A person can try to ignore it or allow himself to be overwhelmed by it, or lots of options in between. It seems to me that one key element to how we deal with evil, this evil as well as all its other expressions, is to face this question squarely and then answer it: Does God know what He is doing? Whatever happens, good or bad, hits our world because God sends it. He is the Sovereign over everything. This slaughter of the innocents was sent by Him. And so, it is good and right to ask, Does God know what He is doing? Because of what He has taught me and what He has sent my way, I am able to look at the evil around me, and in me, and respond with, 'I trust You, Father.' I actually do think that He knows what He is doing. That does not mean that I know what He is doing. I don't. And that does not mean that I offer my response to Him and then let the evil just roll off my back as if nothing happened. Something has happened! Evil has once again done its ugly work. That is something that calls for tears. But I am rescued from despair because I trust the Father. In response, He gives me the ability to cling to hope. He knows what He is doing, and in the age to come I will be able to see what was going on in this horrific situation. And seeing that, I will be moved to praise Him for His wisdom, His love and His justice. How else can anyone deal with such ugliness?