Where is God?
It’s the end of my third day at the Whittlesea relief centre and though tired, I continue to be amazed at the outpouring of public support for victims of the Victorian bushfires. Christians, Buddhists and Scientologists were visibly present today amongst the people offering practical assistance and emotional support as required. Of course many of those helping have no visible faith representation and may not subscribe to any religious belief at all. Yet presently all are united in the task of helping people to cope with tragic loss and face the question of ‘what next?’.
I have heard people publicly questioning the existence of God in the aftermath of these events. Some are able to maintain that despite their loss, they continue to have a sense of God’s presence with them. An article by Joseph May in the Officer magazine some years ago entitled “Where is God in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attack?” captures a similar feeling to my own of late.
When I was at the Pentagon serving the men and women trying to rescue and recover the victims of the plane crash, I saw God. I saw God in the firemen who were trying to rescue hurt people… I saw God in the men and women, Salvation Army volunteers, who were providing meals to recovery workers, offering them a cup of cold water in Jesus' name.
It’s significant that this definition doesn’t only apply to God’s presence in Christians. God is present in the helping encounter. There are no prerequisites or tests of faith for this. It is simply a reflection of the character of God, who is recorded in the Scriptures as caring particularly for the poor, the widow, the orphan, the vulnerable.
No comments:
Post a Comment