I've been reminded and confronted of late both through reading and personal experience the large group of people who are frustrated with their faith, mad at God, etc. I may get myself in trouble here as this is sort of a rant and those are not often well-received, but most of the time I find that these are the very people who are not involved in a community of believers, have not set out on a proper study of the Bible (using the excuse that they can't understand what is written in it) and thus have not set forth a biblical worldview in their lives and heart. They are involved in things contrary to what the Word teaches and thus blame the Church or God for their misgivings. Does this world suck at times, you bet it does. Are we living as God intended, no way, not since the Fall of Man. But thankfully through Jesus we have access to the Kingdom of God, right here and right now, and the promise of heaven when we pass from this life to the next. Unfortunately, Satan is the prince of this world and in control, but God has broken into this world, redeemed His people, and offered us hope through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Thanks be to God. We get through these "life sucks" times (and I have them often) by reminding ourselves of Who is in charge here, keeping an eternal perspective, and falling back onto God's Word and the community of believers for support and encouragement. Please, no more being mad at God and the Church, it gives me a headache.

Related to this, twice in the past week (once in an email from our school's FCA coordinator remembering a student who died a year and a half ago and who had a basketball court dedicated after him and once today in an article on the Amish school shooting) I heard it said that these occurrences were God's plan. The exact text from the Amish article reads:

We think it was God’s plan and we’re going to have to pick up the pieces and keep going...

I'm sorry, I just don't buy into this thinking. Do you really think it was God's plan that a madman broke into a school, shot ten young girls, murdering five of them and turning the gun on himself, or that in CO a guy did the same, sexually assaulting six girls, killing one and himself, or the countless young girls and boys around the world who serve as sex slaves for foreign tourists, or the people living in desitute conditions in Darfur, in constant fear of death and starvation? Do you really think that God planned a 7th grade boy would come home from school perfectly healthy one Friday afternoon and be dead by 10pm? This isn't God's plan, this isn't what He had in mind when he created the world and humanity? But due to the rebellion by Satan and the Fall of Man, this is the world we live in, and being an apocalyptic-thinking person, I have to think it's going to get worse before it gets better. That brings us back to the text and conclusions I began with. Yes, there are times when I question God and how He could allow certain things to happen. But I trust in the end that all will work out, those who deserve the punishment will get it and those who put their faith, hope, and trust in Christ will get the eternal reward that was bought for them on the cross and with the resurrection of Jesus.

Did that make any sense at all?