Happy Monday!
Horrors from an idyllic Connecticut town inspire an unwanted word-of-the-week…
UNSPEAKABLE
I can’t think of words for the evil that prompts the murder of innocent five- and six-year-old children and those who care for them. It’s quite literally unspeakable.
We grieve with those who lost loved ones and with those who must face fear and move forward. We share the search for sense in a senseless act, the struggle to trust when trust is the last thing we want to do.
In such times, we lean on faith that lets us look back and remember the stories. The stories remind us that, despite the twists and turns, God has been faithful.
Knowing that, we can look forward with hope, a confident expectation that God will continue to keep His promises.
There’s a piece of the Christmas story we don’t usually talk about around the tree. In Matthew 2, an angel warned Joseph to take his young family to Egypt. Soon after, a jealous King Herod commanded the senseless slaughter of all boys under age two in Bethlehem and the surrounding area.
No less than parents and grandparents in Newtown, I’m sure families grieved and wondered why. And still, God was faithful.
If it sounds like I’ve got this figured out—I don’t. I don’t know how you find hope in the middle of unspeakable pain, grief, or despair.
But I know it’s possible. I know the world’s filled with generosity, kindness and love. I know people seek ways to share their blessings with strangers, that people serve sacrificially in Jesus’ name in all sorts of places.
Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
In the face of unspeakable evil, that kind of peace is beyond our understanding. When we face this sort of evil, it’s all we’ve got.
It’s also exactly what we need.
Have a great week.