I received an email the other day from an old professor of mine that I still keep in contact with. "You'll find several good articles in the current edition of Marie Claire magazine." Respecting this woman's opinion very much, I picked up a copy of the magazine the next time I was in the grocery store. She was right, there a number of good articles, the majority relating to battered women. The spread that I found to be most powerful was a collage of pictures of young beautiful women. Next to their pictures, were listed their names, and their fates. "Kelly, 27 strangled and by her boyfriend of two years and shoved into his backyard septic tank." "Maria, 21 and newborn Evelyn, both shot to death by husband/father Jose." The stories were endless and the brutality unimaginable. I found myself so frustrated by what I was reading. "Why God? Why do you allow things like this to happen?" I found myself thinking.

When innocent people were burned at the stake in your name during the Crusades, where were you God? When Nazi Germany tortured and killed millions of Jews during the Holocaust, where was the God of "the chosen"? When Africans were forced onto ships and sold into slavery in America, beaten, lynched, segregated, and treated as less than human, where was the loving, righteous and just God? While poverty, drugs, homelessness, starvation, sex trafficking, AIDS, abuse, injustice, dysfunctional families, and hatred plague our world, it is easy to finger the blame towards God. Atheists use these epidemics to formulate conclusions that there is no God. And us Christians, while we remain confident (on good days) that God exists despite all of the "bad stuff," we are still often quick to hand the blame back over to God. We say things like "God works in mysterious ways," or "We don't always see the bigger picture like God does," and "God can turn the bad into good, and he works everything to His glory." All true statements. All easy Christian cop-outs. If the finger is pointed outward (or upward). then it isn't pointed inward, and that is the way we like to keep it.

Who was to blame? Who is to blame? Should God be held accountable solely on the reasoning that He is sovereign, all knowing, and ultimately has control over the universe? Should we blame God just because we know that if He wanted to, He could've stepped in and burnt down all of the concentration camps (or even better Hitler himself) with one point of His finger. He could've intervened and saved a lot of innocent people from religious zealots. He could've sunk ships headed to pick up slaves, or drop off drugs. He could approve a modern day miracle of manna for those starving in third world countries. He could destroy AIDS with the blink of an eye. He could even break the arms of wife beaters. cause guns to backfire. or make the authorities take domestic abuse more seriously. So where is He? Has he turned His back on His children? Or perhaps, is it us who have been turning our backs?

Long ago, Jesus decided that he wouldn't force our hands. He gave us a gift, called it free will . He easily could have turned us all into subservient robots. Instead he gave us brains, and emotions, and allowed us to choose to serve and obey Him, rather than force us into it. Whilst free will is a gift, it can easily become a curse when abused. Not everyone will choose to give their lives, and surrender their wills over to the Lord. As a result, there is an abundance of sin eating away at our world. Is this God's fault? Has he forsaken us?

In fact, He was here in body and flesh all along. We are the body of Christ. We are called to feed the hungry and give shelter to the poor. We are commanded to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, to defend the rights of the poor and helpless, and to seek justice and judge fairly. God is not to blame, we, His followers are. How many Christians turned their backs on the Holocaust or even aided the Nazis? After all, the beginnings of modern German anti-Semitism rooted from the Christian church. How many so-called Christians owned and abused slaves in early America, and fought on the side of segregation rather than integration? How many Christians over the years have played a large role in some of the darkest points in our history-whether through aiding and abetting, or through turning a blind eye rather than taking a stand. And how many Christians today are guilty of the same thing? How many of us continue to stuff our pockets and enjoy life's luxuries while there are so many around us in need. I know I do.

Many battered women who seek help often find that in one way or another the blame is given back to them. "What did you do to piss him off?" "If only you would just do what he asks of you and stop mouthing off to him." "Why don't you just leave him?" Authorities do this, society does this, often even the church points the finger in the wrong direction (sometimes abusing scripture in the process). "Perhaps if you were a more submissive wife..." A similar situation to the blame shift we pull on God. God desires to bless and protect. What we need to keep in mind when we wonder where God is, why He is silent, or seems to be doing nothing--is that He is the Vine and we are the branches. We are extensions of Him. We are to act as His hands and feet. Our mouths should be opening up against the drugs taking over our streets, the malnourished babies dying in Africa, the overlooked school systems, abused women and children, war-torn nations, the rising number of homeless, racism, those that are lonely and hurting. we need to get in there and do something. We cannot take back the sins of the past, but we can do something about the future. Maybe there is an instance or two where we could've taken a stand, but ended up turning our back. Just a challenge to all of us to stay informed, be aware, and step up to the plate when necessary. Luckily we aren't in it alone. Chew on that...

"I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing."John 15:5 (MSG)

Food for Thought

by ERIKA LARSON Summer 2003

by ERIKA LARSON
Summer 2003