A Tale of Two Tales

   Part of the Bible reading for this morning continued in the Book of Esther, chapters 4 and 5. These chapters continue the unfolding story of the Jewish people in Persia, taken there as captives when their land of Israel was overrun.

   This is a "feel good" story. It has a heroine, a villain, and a good ending. The people of God, maybe wearing white hats,  triumph over the evil villain, no doubt dressed in black, and all because God placed a young woman in a place of power, and she responded by doing the right thing.

   This section of Scripture contains one of my favorites:

" And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

   And I enjoyed thinking on the whole story one more time.

   It is easy to think of God being in control of everything when the ending is as we think right. Is that fact any different if the outcome is not in our understanding?

   A German airliner crashed into portion of the French Alps. This on a routine flight from Spain to Germany with 150 people on board. The story is still coming to light, but it looks as if a co-pilot deliberately ran the plane into the mountain, killing all passengers and crew.

   Was God still in control as in the Esther story above?

   I believe the answer is still the same in both instances, but how do I get my head around the second story line. Would I answer yes, if one of my kids or grandkids were on that plane? Even if I could give that affirmative answer, would I really believe it?

   The two main questions that will be asked in the days ahead will be:

      Why did he do it?

      How can we keep it from happening again?

   I'll be interested in those answers, too, but I will still wonder how and why God could let something like that happen. It doesn't seem fair.

   It is a tragedy that does not even touch me on a personal level, but how much more traumatic would it be if one of those dead belonged to me in some way?

   These words were in another part of my reading this morning, in Romans 9:

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
    and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

   God's ways are not my ways, His thoughts are not like mine. He knows the beginning and the ending of each and every story line, and how it all fits together in His continuing narrative. I have faith that God is just and good.

   Easy to write from this far removed. Not easy to be understood either, but I would pray God's mercy and compassion on all those who mourn.

   I picture myself, standing on that French hillside, looking down into that debris covered valley. Would I cry out to God "why", or would I just cry?

   And how long would it be before I let His healing come…soon I pray