Hi all,
Let's all keep this in the proper perspective. It is NOT God's will that anyone, man, woman, or child, be hurt or killed. That is MAN'S WILL!
Could God have stopped that tragedy? Yes.
Then, why did He not stop it? I don't know. At least not yet. But, one day I will be face to face with Him and can ask Him. For now, I have to live with the fact that He is the sovereign God -- and His plan for all of us is best (Jeremiah 29:11).
Isaiah 55:8-9, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts."
And, that is why we are saved, by grace, through FAITH.
Hebrews 11:1-3 is called the Faith Chapter, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible."
And, that chapter continues saying, "By faith Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, etc. . . ." followed God and it was accorded to them as righteousness.
This past week, Dory and I attended the Memorial and Funeral Service for a Christian Friend Dory has known since 1962. Today, we attended the Memorial Service for a very dear Friend lady. In 1987, she and her husband became my "spiritual parents" for they led me to the Lord.
This woman is so loved that two Memorial Services, one last night and one today, had to be held to accommodate all the people wishing to pay their final respects and show their love for her. At the service today, Dr. Harold Sala, founder, president, and guiding light behind Guidelines International Ministries, told us of this long loved Christian lady, "Ida did not look at death as bad or as a punishment. For her, it truly was as the apostle Paul wrote, in Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."
When Ida died last Sunday night, she did not lose life -- SHE GAINED HEAVEN!.
When viewing tragic deaths such as happened in this school, it is natural for the non-believer to blame God and, even, to possibly curse God. But, for the believer, we must all, by FAITH, know that God's plan is best (Jeremiah 29:11); that His thoughts and understanding are much greater than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9); and that those young children have GAINED HEAVEN (Philippians 1:21).
But, some will ask, "What about the adults who were killed? Did they gain heaven?"
We do not know -- for it depends upon whether they had a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. If they had the Son in their hearts, they gained heaven. If they did not have the Son in their hearts, they did not gain heaven.
1 John 5:12, "He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life."
This is why we Christians are always telling folks they need to have a relationship with Jesus Christ -- for no one knows when that last breath will occur. Until that last breath, one can always turn to Christ and be saved. After that last breath in this mortal body -- our eternal destiny, our eternal fate, is sealed: heaven or hell. And, after that last breath, no one can have a "do over."
This is why it is so important for each person to know Jesus Christ and to have a personal saving relationship with Him. If those six adults who were killed in the school had this relationship with the
Son, they are in heaven right now. If they did not, they are not in heaven.
How about you? Do you have a "saving relationship? with Him -- so that you can be assured that you will go to heaven if you die or are killed unexpectedly? Don't you think it is time to think about doing that? Now?
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill