God who saves vs. God who destroys?

I had an interesting conversation with a friend today regarding the difficult topic about God in the midst of tragedy. As some people may already be familiar with the news, but several weeks ago there was a devastating accident involving a church bus transporting a bunch of youth students back home from a youth retreat. Sadly, the accident ended with the  fatality of the volunteer bus driver and severe injures to many students on board. The question raised was, "How could God let something like this happen? Isn't it not fair?"

The question raised by my friend was not only legitimate but one that I myself wanted to ask God.  Many would probably ask this sort of question when we face unexpected suffering and tragedy living in this world.  Even with the recent natural disaster that destroyed the lives of so many people in Japan, we ask, "where was God? And why would He allow such a thing to happen?" To be honest, I don't have an answer to this questions...and I'm not sure I was able to sufficiently answer my friend's question tonight.  This will probably be one of many questions that I may someday ask God if I am given the opportunity.

One thing that I believe for certain is that God's grace and mercy is constantly surrounding us at all times.  In fact, there are probably so many times (beyond what we can possibly keep track) where God had shielded and protected His creation from harm in this sinful and depraved world.  The truth is, we live in a messed up and broken world...and if it wasn't for God's grace, we would have all been swallowed by the abyss of darkness created by the monstrosity of OUR sin.  Roman 3:23 tells us that we ALL fall short and KEEP FALLING short of God's glory.  It is by God's grace alone that we are saved and even sustained. It was by His generous grace that He sent only His Son, Jesus Christ, as the light into this world so that we might not be swallowed by darkness; but find hope in this light instead.  I think all too often we forget that God sustains us...and it is by His grace that we live (both physically and spiritually).  If God were to abandon us and look away even for a split second, I know that we would all cease to exist.  Regardless of whether we choose to accept this truth or not, we cannot deny the reality that we are ALL sustained by God's grace.

Now how does this related to my question in the first place? As I was driving home tonight...perplexed and frustrated that I couldn't understand such things, God helped me to see (or at least consider) something from another perspective.  "Why do we think God is the one responsible for bad things happening?" Even if we don't believe that God may have created a disaster to destroy someone, we often put blame on God for not protecting us enough from something bad happening to us.  I think God was asking me tonight to consider the presence of His saving grace.  It is true that there was an unfortunate death caused by the accident, but the lives of 23 others that day was spared.  Although I certainly do not undermine the suffering and heartache caused by this mess...but what if the accident that day was not caused by God but simply a result of the fallen condition of this world?  What if that day God totally went out of His way to save the lives of so many innocent victims, yet instead of thanking God for his saving act, I was questioning him why one died and others suffered injuries?  What if God saved the lives of so many people in Japan from this natural disaster, yet we are focusing more on the lost lives rather than the saved (and to be saved) ones?  Again, my heart sincerely grieves over the lost lives and I don't mean to overlook their death; however, maybe there is a bigger story unfolding behind what our eyes cannot see.  Although we may not know all the answers now (or maybe in our lifetime), I know for certain that God is faithful and He certainly works for the good of those who love him (Rom 8:28).

I have faith that God will bring order, healing, and restoration out of the chaos and destruction caused by sin and brokenness in the world.  Out of the shattered debris left by the storm, God will recreate beauty as He has always done.  Maybe we won't see the fruits in our lifetime, but that is not sufficient reason to doubt in the good that God is already doing.  For this reason, I will choose tonight...as well as in the days to come...to give THANKS TO GOD for His saving work (especially for the ones that go unnoticed) and continue to hope in the fruits that will bear through God's recreation.  If it's a question of remembering God who saves or God who destroys, I will say that the God who saves always comes on top...because destruction is never the end of God's story.  I love and believe in the God of creation and recreation.