Blame is the Name of the Game 4 of 4

            For Christians, these bad things do not cause an incoherent narrative, and while they may be scary, we have a place to turn in our fear.  We know why bad things happen.  God tells us in His Word, where He gives us our ultimate truth and meaning.   Bad things happen because creation itself, this whole existence wherein we exist, has become corrupted or broken on account of human sin.  Sin in my life does not just have an effect upon me and those whom I offend.  It also has as a consequence a disrupted order between man and man and between man and world.  Moreover, this is true not just of my own sins, but the sins of all humanity.  When an awful thing occurs, it need not cause me to view existence as incoherent.  On the contrary, I can expect such things to occur.  I need not go looking for someone to blame.  Jesus Himself points out that bad things happen without there necessarily being anyone to blame.  There is not always a human agent at fault to bring about some unfortunate consequence.  I also do not need to go about blaming God when awful things occur.  It is no more God’s fault than it is my fault when I construct a toy for my son, only to have him break it moments later. 

God tells us in His Word what is going on.  He gives us an ultimate truth that allows us to make sense of existence.  Bad things happen because creation is broken.  This in itself does not alleviate the fear that one might experience in the midst of such dreadful happenings.  But God tells us that He cares.  He cares when we suffer.  He cares when we are sick and sad.  He cares when we die.  He cares so much so that He endured these things Himself, in the person of Jesus.  He cares so much that when you suffer, you never do so alone.  For God is with you in the midst of your suffering.  He grieves with you as you grieve.  He promises you that while your sorrow may last for a night, there is joy for you in the morning, whether that morning is the next day, months or years in the future, or only realized at the return of Jesus. 

For all that happens in this world, Jesus tells us to take heart, for He has overcome the world.  None of these bad things that happen can dislodge the ultimate truth and ultimate meaning that God has given for life within His creation.  These bad things do not turn incoherent a narrative that is not just A narrative but THE narrative. 

This affects how we respond to tragedy.  Rather than casting blame in situations that we are far removed from, or for that matter, situations to which we are close, we can simply grieve.  When parents lost their young son, we don’t need to decry what they’ve done wrong.  We can grieve with them.  When a gorilla is killed, we don’t need to first look for where to aim our blame.  We can grieve over the death of one of God’s magnificent creatures, we can grieve over the fear and distress experienced by the boy and his family, and we can rejoice that his life was preserved.  When a crazed gunman kills 49 people, we don’t need blame our neighbors or those who disagree with us politically.  We can all simply mourn that an awful thing has happened. 

Yes, in each case, we can look to see how things might be done better in the future.  Fences might be improved.  Vacations might be taken elsewhere.  We might even have conversations about issues that are important in our world.  But when we have THE narrative helping us to understand and engage with existence, we need not play the “blame game.”  We can instead love our neighbors, just as God in Christ has loved us.