by Scott H. Northrup
One of the favorite sayings of Christian people is that "God is in control." And yet in the wake of the attack upon America on September 11, many people are left puzzled and perplexed that a God who is "in control" would permit such things to happen. There are many different ways men have attempted to answer this dilemma, and few hit the mark.
On the one hand are very well-known Christian leaders who are saying that in these attacks God is judging America for her gross immorality. On the other end of the spectrum are those who would say that these events once again prove that there is no personal deity watching over and protecting the lives of people. Both of these viewpoints are false. Don't believe either of them for a moment.
For those who say that this is God judging America, I simply say that the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ in NOT a terrorist. He is not in the business of perpetrating indiscriminate mass murder. Most assuredly God is a judge, but His judgments are very specific, very individual, very precise, and very fair. He has a means of bringing the guilty individual to justice without "collateral damage." In bringing about justice, He doesn't send an arbitrary group of people on an arbitrary airplane or in an arbitrary building to their deaths. He is not in judgment mode in this age anyway. He is in mercy mode. Jesus said (paraphrased), "Let the good and the evil grow together until the harvest, because if you try to uproot the evil, you'll uproot the good as well. No collateral damage. I'll have to wait to the end to sort it all out. To protect the good, I'll have to let the good and the evil coexist, because they are so intertwined."
The fact is this: God has placed a huge amount of responsibility into the hands of human beings. When He created mankind, He gave us dominion over the earth. He obeys His own word. He obeys His prime directive, which is to give humans free will - freedom to choose. He is only "in control" of our affairs if we specifically ask Him to be. He is only "in control" of your household if you invite Him in and make Him welcome. America in the past forty years has not made God very welcome, at least publicly. That is now changing. We are once again as a nation invoking His blessing and protection. Every time we say "God Bless America," we are not saying "Boy, isn't America great," but "God, we need you."
God is in control, but only if you ask Him to be. Otherwise, He will leave you alone to live out your life without His interference. God is a gentleman, and He only shows up where He is welcome.
But make no mistake, every individual will be brought to account for their actions in this life. "For it is appointed unto every man once to die, and then comes judgment." For in the eternal sense, God is most definitely in control and will bring about His ultimate will in the final analysis. And that is His establishment of a kingdom that cannot be shaken, in which dwell righteousness, joy, and peace.
@ copyright 2001 by Scott H. Northrup. All rights reserved.