When an orange-haired gunman dressed for war finished storming a darkened movie theater in Aurora, Colorado during a midnight showing of the Dark Knight, twelve people were dead and scores of others were damaged for the rest of their lives. Immediately a certain segment of society took the tragic opportunity to ask, "Where was God during this?" I call them "a certain segment", because many believers aren't asking that question. It is to everyone who is, that I would like to speak on God's behalf. If you know anyone, please pass this along to them in a spirit of love and gentleness.
The best way to find someone, is to track them down, literally. Everyone leaves a trail: a scent, a paper trail, credit card receipts, footprints, etc. Likewise, I reasoned it should be just as easy to track down God. Then we could come to a reasonable conclusion concerning His whereabouts 38 minutes after midnight, July 20th, 2012. So I went on an imaginary journey in search of Him.
Someone reminded me they had seen Him in the school where I grew up. But when I visited, there was no sign of Him. Where the Cross used to be, there was a poster for a safe-sex class. At the time we used to pray to start the day, they were handing out condoms and discussing moral relativism - that morality is not absolute, it is up to the individual and culture to decide. Therefore, neither the Bible nor any other "book" or person can be an authority on what is "right".
I was grieved. I ran out of there astonished at what I was seeing and hearing. Surely this was some sort of cult-school the authorities needed to know about. They had kicked God out!
I went straight to the courthouse to see what was going on. I was not prepared for what I discovered. To my utter disbelief, I found that God wasn't allowed there either! The Ten Commandments had been removed from the building because they had been ruled to be illegal! I found a lawyer in the hall on a break and asked him about these things. He confirmed it was so. God was not allowed in school or government. He could not even be mentioned!
My mind was swirling. Wasn't this America, which began in its Declaration of Independence speaks about attaining a "station" (place) that "Nature's God entitles them"? And doesn't it speak of the "Creator" endowing all men with certain unalienable rights?
I felt faint. I had to pray. I saw a church nearby. Finally! I should have gone there first to find God. It was one of those relatively new kinds of churches. "Non-denominational", I think they call it. Maybe it was "Post-denominational". I'm not sure.
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I went to the front door. It was locked. I found the offices. I told the receptionist I was looking for God. I had questions. A lot of people did. She asked if I had an appointment. I said "No".
She said I would have to come back, and gave me a number to call between the hours of 9 and 5 and I could make one but not to call during lunch or on the weekend, because no one would be there.
I went outside and collapsed on the grass under a tree and wept about...about everything. Soon, a security guard approached and asked what my problem was. He said that I would have to leave the church grounds because it wasn't a church day.
"Okay", I said. "But I have one question. Where is the cross?"
"Oh we took that down", he replied.
"They said it could offend the new people who might be thinking about joining the church."
I thought to myself, "I'm never going to find out where God was the night of July 20th. We have kicked Him out of schools, government, society... Then an idea struck me, almost "out of the blue". I'll start reading the Bible. From the beginning. I'll read it until I find the answer!
I only got to the third page, the third chapter of Genesis when knowledge and revelation came crushing down on me like a flood from a broken dam. It swept me into a reality of truth from which I would never question God again.
The answer was right there! I saw that God had given Adam perfection on every level of existence: in His body, mind, spirit, and surroundings. Yet, Adam turned his back on his Creator believing Satan's lie that there was something more, and he went after it.
Death followed. Adam's world looked like it had ended, but God still loved him and reached out to him. God said, ADAM, WHERE ARE YOU?" (Genesis 3:9) That's when it hit me. Many times we are quick to ask, "God where are you?" Perhaps instead, we should quietly close our eyes and ask where we have sent Him! Then maybe we will hear a still small voice, crying out in the dark night, "WHERE ARE YOU?" | | Thank You |
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