“Those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no!”
Luke 13:2-4
In the 20 years since the 9/11 tragedy, we’ve often questioned, But why? Why would a loving God allow such horrors to occur?
Timothy Keller, a pastor in New York City, said in a 9/11 memorial service, “On the cross we sufferers finally see, to our shock, that God now knows too what it is to lose a loved one in an unjust attack. John Stott puts it this way: ‘I could never myself believe in God if it were not for the cross. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?’ Though we don’t know the reason God allows evil and suffering to continue, we know what the reason isn’t…. It can’t be that he doesn’t love us! It can’t be that he doesn’t care. God so loved us and hates suffering that he was willing to come down and get involved in it.”
If the material universe was all there is, then events like 9/11 would feel natural. But they don’t. They tear us apart. Yet they also confirm in us that there is a God, that He has established right and wrong, that we will face tragedy, and that in Him we have hope.
Timothy Keller, a pastor in New York City, said in a 9/11 memorial service, “On the cross we sufferers finally see, to our shock, that God now knows too what it is to lose a loved one in an unjust attack. John Stott puts it this way: ‘I could never myself believe in God if it were not for the cross. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?’ Though we don’t know the reason God allows evil and suffering to continue, we know what the reason isn’t…. It can’t be that he doesn’t love us! It can’t be that he doesn’t care. God so loved us and hates suffering that he was willing to come down and get involved in it.”
If the material universe was all there is, then events like 9/11 would feel natural. But they don’t. They tear us apart. Yet they also confirm in us that there is a God, that He has established right and wrong, that we will face tragedy, and that in Him we have hope.
Scripture Focus
Luke 13:1-5
Insight
Be assured that the Lord does care. His name “is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10)
Bible In A Year
- Ecclesiastes 1-2
- Psalm 63
- John 2-3
