Making Sense Out of Tragedy
February 11th, 2008
Last Tuesday night and early Wednesday dozens of tornadoes swept across the southern US leaving in their wake a path of destruction. As of Friday the death toll had risen to at least 59 with injuries in the hundreds making this the deadliest wave of tornadoes to hit the South in over twenty years. In the aftermath of such tragedy it may be difficult to make sense of it all.
There’s a great article in the Los Angeles Times about the faculty and students of Union University and how they are coping in the wake of this devastation. Union is a Southern Baptist liberal arts institution hard hit by the storm. All but one of Union’s 33 buildings were badly damaged. Some were completely destroyed with damage estimates totaling $40 million. Yet despite the carnage the hand of God is still unmistakable.
Dean of Christian studies, Gregory A. Thornbury, is looking forward to the teaching opportunities the next few weeks will provide. “If we didn’t, we’d have blown it,” Thornbury said. “We’re preparing people to become teachers of God’s word, to be missionaries, to be the leaders of relief organizations.”
But Thornbury urges caution against trying to guess the mind of God. Quoting from Deuteronomy 29:29 he said, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God.”
God’s motive for destroying the school, he said, “is probably in the realm of the things that belong to the Lord. . . . But what we can say is: ‘Look at the solidarity here. Why do we have people from the whole country rallying around this cause?’ I think that says something about what God has revealed to us.”
Though he expects the tornadoes will spark vigorous theological discussions in class, Thornbury said that the true lesson — that people should respond to suffering with love and compassion — was already manifesting itself.
Many of the students were already acknowledging God’s hand of protection. Although several students sustained injury including two reportedly in intensive care, miraculously there were no fatalities. Union students openly credit God with keeping them safe.
We continuously see tragedies in the headlines such as hurricane Katrina, the Indonesian tsunami and even 9/11. In addition each of us experience suffering throughout the course of our lives. It’s easy to understand how when the trails seem too difficult, people have a tendency to blame God. If God is so loving why does He allow such suffering and death?
Romans 8:22 tells us that the whole of creation is groaning and travailing in pain. Everything is running down because of sin. Tragedies like this deadly wave of tornadoes can be traced back to the consequences of sin. But God is sovereign and He uses tragedy for His glory nonetheless. Whether in miraculously minimal losses of life or in God’s people rallying around the cause, God’s name is glorified. And that’s really all we need to know.
So if you get a chance, send up a prayer for the victims of these devastating storms. And while you’re at it, let’s give God the glory for the tremendous testimony of the people of Union University and others like them who can attest to awesome hand of the Almighty in the face of tragedy.
