The Boston Marathon Bombing and our fear ...

What do you do when your fears have merit? We love to label our fears: acrophobia - fear of heights; Triskaidekaphobia - fear of the number 13; Arachibutyrophobia - the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. Sometimes, these fears have little connection to the reality of this world, but other times they reflect a real danger in the world which we cannot control. If you have a fear of flying, no amount of rational talk may calm your fear. Even though the statistics say that flying is safer than driving, it is still a fact that some planes do in fact crash. This fear or anxiety of flying is a pessimistic prediction about the future: I know the likelihood of a crash is low, but some planes do in fact, crash - and I'm sure that this plane I'm about to get on is one of those planes. You cannot rationally talk someone out of this fear, because there is logic in much of their argument. So what do you do when you live in a world where bad things do happen? What do you do when you live in a world where someone would bomb the runners and spectators of the Boston Marathon? How do we protect ourselves from this danger? The experts will do their best figuring out who and how and why this occurred, though that will be little comfort for those who lost loved ones and limbs in the attack. I suspect there will be far fewer spectators next year at the Marathon because it is nearly impossible to protect 26 miles of a public course through the city. The fear of "what if it happens again?" will probably lead to many watching at home on the TV. I know that fear - my family had to go to Dallas in October of 2001. I decided that we would drive rather than fly because I did not want to face the uncertainty of "what might happen." That turned out to be a memorable trip for us, travelling through a few states for the first time. Is there any other option? Is there any hope? Is the answer "You can't let them win by making us afraid" or "Just don't think about it" or even a fatalistic "if it is your time to go, you can't change that?" People who have a naturalistic world view must in the end deal with it in their own strength, for there is no one greater to appeal to. But for the Christian, we must remember that nothing that happens on this earth goes unnoticed. Our pain is not merely the electrical response to stimuli, but moves God's heart. Sure, there are hard questions to ask about the existence of evil, but in times of grief and fear, we need to know that Our Father sees, hears, and comforts us even in the most grievous circumstances. The only way to navigate this broken world where evil people do evil things is to know that there is someone greater than those who plot evil. The solution to our fear is not a technique, not denying the reality of life, and not finding strength in ourselves. Trust in the One who rules the Universe settles fear. That's not a guarantee that bad things will not happen, but that you will not be alone if they do. And nothing comes into your life that does not first pass through His nail-pierced hands. This world is not the way it should be, and it is not forever. One day, for those who trust Christ, when we see Him face to face we will be like Him - and all pain, all suffering, all sin, all death, all decay, all destruction, all seperation from what is good will be gone. And he will wipe every tear from our eye ...