How often has the question been asked, “Why does God let bad things happen?” Pictures and reports of the torture and abuse of both children and animals tear at our hearts. The most normal reaction in the world is to turn away, to change the channel, to mute the volume, until the evidence of horror is gone for the moment.
The nature of my work brings me reportage of gross cruelty to animals daily – especially horses. I, too, click frantically to remove the evidence from my computer screen. Like most others, I find the images hard to deal with. I don’t have enough money to save them all. We can’t rescue every pair of innocent eyes that seem to look directly into our soul, hoping for a connection that will bring a savior.
Homeless
Our hearts are meant to be torn
Humans and animals were created by God to live together in peace and harmony. It was the free will of man that caused the blood to flow, both literally and figuratively.
As Christians our hearts are meant to be torn, to bleed, when we witness the cruelty of man. But even in this, there is a promise; that our hearts will never be broken beyond repair. Should we not react viscerally to the evil perpetrated on the innocent, we would not be truly human, chosen members of the family of God.
God offered paradise. Man rejected God’s plan, thinking he had a better one. As is always the result, the innocent suffered, beginning with Abel who fell by his brother’s hand.
Video of hungry children anywhere is painful. The tragic circumstances of the wild horses of the western United States is currently front and center in the picture of man’s failure. The commercials that air on TV to request donations for the tortured and abused dogs and cats of our nation are painful to watch. They are meant to be painful.
We are not home yet
Children of God don’t run from this pain. It serves as a reminder of our failure; evidence of man’s arrogance, pride, and revolt. It also reveals a higher nature, one that is connected to a higher Spirit. Our present pain only reminds us that we are not home yet.
On Their Way Home
Character, conviction, and the actions they birth are the result of overcoming failure, both ours personally and that of mankind’s history. How do we do that?
First, get in right relationship with God. Exchange the failure of man for the promise and glory of the King. We will live in His kingdom. Only then will the original creation return – peace among all of God’s creatures. Joy will replace sorrow in that morning.
In the meantime, do what you can, when you can, for the children and the animals. Yes, your heart will be torn, but know that no one person can do it all, and God doesn’t expect you to. Bless those around you, both two-legged and four, with love, relationship, time, and care. You are not God. Man has delivered us to this place, but only God can get us out.
And He will. He promised. We have a Savior… that promise has been kept.
