As we anticipate the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I point you to a thought Brian Chapell shared in a sermon he preached following 9/11.* Chapell points us to the tears of Christ as a lens through which we can view tragedy:
The purpose of the risen Lord still will triumph in the time of his design. He yet fulfills the words of the prophet of old:
The revelation of God’s purposes awaits an appointed time;
it pants toward the goal,
and it will not fail.
Though it tarries, wait for it,
because it will surely come and will not be late. Habbakuk 2:3 (Chapell’s translation).
What proof do we have of such amazing statements? What basis do we have for such faith? Lazarus’s rescue from the grace and Jesus’ resurrection from the dead are the proofs in microcosm and grand scale that give us assurance in tragedy–near and far, small and great, personal and national – – that our God understands, cares, and rules. How do we know? Jesus wept. Each tear in this tragedy is a lens to understand the power of God directed by love so strong that death cannot restrain its rule, time cannot blur its design, and tragedy cannot derail its triumph. This is how we know that God is love in the midst of tragedy: Jesus wept.
From, “National Tragedy,” in The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Have to Preach, edited by Bryan Chapell.
