Five days ago Omar Mir Siddique Mateen walked into the Pulse Bar in Orlando and killed 49 people. Not one went to that bar last weekend thinking, \u201cI\u2019m going to die tonight\u201d<\/p>\n
Imagine that your brother, your sister, your friend, your classmate, or your next-door neighbor were among those killed. How would you respond?<\/p>\n
We rightly shrink in horror from that heinous crime.<\/p>\n
But in the four days since the Orlando terrorist attack, about 170 other people have been murdered in the US; about 6400 have died of cancer, about 6700 of heart disease; about 100 were killed by drunk drivers.<\/p>\n
Then on Tuesday, also in Orlando, two-year-old Lane Davis was dragged underwater by an alligator and drowned. Lane\u2019s father, wading into the water, didn\u2019t have an inkling that there was any danger to the boy.<\/p>\n
Imagine that Lane was your brother, your nephew, your grandson, or your son. How would you respond?<\/p>\n
In the days since that tragedy, approximately another 200 little boys and girls under five years of age have died in the US.<\/p>\n
In this rich and predominantly peaceful country, we can live under the illusion that death is something strange, something unusual \u2013 something we can avoid, we can put off indefinitely if we drive carefully, eat well, and exercise diligently.<\/p>\n
But death is all around us. Tragedies happen. All the time.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, in the years ahead, unless Jesus returns in the next few decades, every one of us will die. Some will know they are dying. Some won\u2019t. Some will die swiftly and painlessly. Others will die horribly. But we will all face death. It is certain.<\/p>\n
So shouldn\u2019t we prepare for it? Shouldn\u2019t we learn how to approach the tragedies that will undoubtedly come in this life \u2013 so that we will be prepared both to help others in the midst of such crises, and to endure them biblically ourselves?<\/p>\n
This Sunday we begin a short sermon series on the book of Job. We have been making our way through Paul\u2019s letter to the Romans for more than a year, and still have much to cover in that great epistle. We\u2019ve come to one of the best-known verses in all of Scripture:<\/p>\n
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His <\/i>purpose. Romans 8:28 NAS<\/p>\n
What a promise! What comfort! And how great is the God who can make such a promise!<\/p>\n
And yet, a dear friend who had recently suffered horrible tragedy once told me, \u201cIf one more person quotes Romans 8:28 to me, I\u2019m going to kill him!\u201d<\/p>\n
What led others to misuse this great verse, so that it was not a comfort but a barb?<\/p>\n
I believe the problem was a lack of understanding of the lessons of the book of Job \u2013 lessons that the Apostle Paul knew well, indeed, that he assumes the readers of Romans know.<\/p>\n
In Job, we see a good man \u2013 kind, generous, loving, dutiful, pious, and upright \u2013 lose his goods, lose his children, and lose his health, all in a few days. Then his friends come and make matters worse. Buffeted by all this tragedy, Job deeply questions the goodness and justice of God.<\/p>\n
In this book we learn about some of the causes of pain and suffering in this life; we learn of the hatred of our enemy, Satan; we learn of the majesty and sovereignty of God, even over Satan; we learn some of God\u2019s purposes, as well as the nature of genuine faith.<\/p>\n
So through this book, we can gain a solid and necessary foundation for understanding Romans 8:28 and following.<\/p>\n
Through this book we can become genuine comforters, instead of the \u201cmiserable comforters\u201d (Job 16:2) who tormented Job and my friend.<\/p>\n
And through this book, we can prepare for the tragedies that undoubtedly await us in the years ahead.<\/p>\n
So join us. And may God\u2019s Word build us up and equip us, so that in the day of trouble we might look to Him in the full confidence of faith.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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