We've now been in Colorado for almost two months! We have loved our time here. The view is better, my job is better, the humidity is better, our allergies are better, and the coffee is better (I could keep this thing going if you have time). It feels good to be planted in the place that has weighed heavy on our hearts and minds for over 5 years, and it feels good to be settled in a place in which we plan, Lord willing, to spend the rest of our lives. However, we haven't arrived yet.
Nope. In fact, the past month would be a good example to demonstrate the fact that we aren't in our perfect, eternal home quite yet. First, my kids and I got sick. We spent what seemed like three or four complete lifetimes hacking up junk in our sinuses and fighting off fevers (even though it was probably more like two weeks). Second, Colorado has had much more rain than they usually get. For multiple weeks it rained almost every day -- to the point we had to check our current location in Google Maps to make sure that we didn't move to Seattle. Third, our kids thought it would be fun to start waking up around 6 A.M. each day even though we didn't agree with them. Fourth, a serial shooter is on the loose about 15 miles North of us. Fifth, an EF-3 tornado unleashed its fury directly towards us. It was close by, and I could see the thing churning from our 3rd floor patio. Fortunately, it lifted before it arrived to our area. Sixth, our dog got sick and threw up on our carpet. We put her outside on the patio, and she threw up there. The patio has a wood floor so it fell through to our neighbors' patios (yes, somehow it hit the second floor and the first). Then, we locked her in the laundry room and she made a mess in there.
Life isn't easy. It could be worse. However, it could be better. A lot better. I've heard it said that the Christian doctrine of sin is the only doctrine that can be irrefutably proved. Really, all you have to do is point. Turn on the news and you see heartache. Talk to your neighbors and suffering is present. Some may push back and say, "Where is God in all of this?"
Admittedly, at times I wish God restrained evil to a greater degree, but we must also consider the fact that we don't know how much evil he is restraining. Additionally, we must remember that God is not silent on the reason that we are in this predicament. Ultimately, we are in this situation because of us -- our own sinfulness. The world is groaning to be made right. Yet, God can still be seen even in the midst of it. I myself have witnessed quite a few miraculous events that are unexplainable without the Triune God of Scripture. But even consider basic things. For example, as I was listening to the story about the serial shooter on the loose I couldn't help but think of the fact that he was committing these horrendous acts of violence less than 10 miles from the Rocky Mountains that are so tall that many of the mountains still have snow on them right now in June. They are so majestic and large that it is mind-boggling to imagine a god powerful enough to create them. Scripture explains that as well.
Evil, suffering, and hard days are unavoidable. They are here. I'm glad that Christianity has an explanation for them that makes sense and has a resolution. Not all worldviews have a satisfying answer. Therefore, in light of this fact, the questions are, "Will they end?" and "Is there any meaning in the midst of them?" I thank God that through Jesus this life is not all there is even with all of the great things that come with it.
