A good friend of mine is a student at a prestigious university. Diligent in his studies, he has been honored with recognition for his achievement. The adage of silent waters running deep was never truer, and his words bear an insight that is not often seen in a man of his age.
He recently was reflecting on the loss of his mother to cancer while he was still a teenager. He offered that at first he thought that the tragedy had some lesson that he and others were to learn. You know the thinking, "God permitted this to happen so that so-and-so would learn such-and-such or experience this-or-that." Sometimes well-intended folks say this in their attempts to comfort the bereaved.
Pretty common thinking. I've heard it preached from the pulpit when Matthew 9:18-26 was the lesson: "God used the death of Jarius' daughter to reveal his power over death. This miracle brought many people to realize that Jesus was the Messiah." Certainly both points are true, but that thinking scratches only the surface.
My friend stated that while trying to connect the dots between the death of his mother and the unfolding of his and others lives, he realized that such efforts were in vain. He said that her illness had lessons that were between her and God. He added that how he reacted to it was between him and God. Not accepting the limitation of human thinking and understanding to determine what the divine perspective is. These actions place God in a box that is convenient for us to carry. I don't believe that God wants us to carry him in times of tragedy such as this. Rather, he wants us to trust enough that he can carry us.
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