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Wednesday, October 4, 2006


Memorial arrangement for Amish schoolchildren.

"Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him" (Acts 8:2).  "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God" (2 Corinthians 1:3,4).

Periodically during our lives there are events on a scale that especially touch our hearts such as the Amish shootings here in Lancaster County this last Monday.  These events remind us of the great evil that permeates our world, the fragility of life itself and the "mystery of divine providence". Yesterday, as additional sordid details of the murderous plot were revealed Brooksyne began to weep as she cried out asking, "Why, why, why?"

There are personal events that have only touched you or events that were more localized in nature, not making national or international news. Since I have lived here in Lancaster County I recall when a little 14-month-old was struck and killed when he wandered behind his father's backhoe. I also recall a dedicated newlywed youth pastor who was killed when the church van accidentally rolled over him.  During situations like this our family intercedes for those grieving family members and friends left behind. 

And we again ask, "Why?"

We join many in our area and around the world in praying for the Amish families involved in Monday's horrific massacre, as well as the family of the killer. By all accounts his wife was a devout believer and that very morning led a prayer meeting in her church.

For many, events like this either becomes a crisis of faith (for believers) or an excuse not to believe (for unbelievers). Yesterday a friend who works at Lancaster General Hospital, where several of the young girls were initially taken, wrote how deeply this impacted the employees at the hospital and the anger they expressed at what they had witnessed. I also heard from a compassionate reader at Hershey Medical Center.  Several of the girls were life-flighted to this hospital as well.

Dramatic and unexplainable loss is an issue people of all ages have always dealt with. 

Consider Stephen who stood boldly for Christ and was stoned. Afterwards, "Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him" (Acts 8:2). Have you ever really pondered this verse?  Surely the emotions were no less intense for them than they are for us in our losses.  To "mourn deeply" has the sense of great lamentation, The literal Greek meaning is "to beat the breast in grief".  Did they "understand" any better than we do?

Surely they did not. 

Consider John the Baptist.  He was specially called to serve God from his very conception. He had prepared the way for and even baptized Jesus.  He had taken a bold stand for truth and righteousness before an ungodly king and was beheaded as a result.  Consider his disciples.  They had the grisly chore of taking his body and burying it.  What were they thinking?  What a great test of faith they endured.

Surely, like us, they wondered, "Why did God allow this to happen?"

Above all, consider the Lord Jesus Christ, who endured such opposition from sinful men and murdered on our behalf.

Some of you have experienced great loss in your own life.  Yesterday in the outpouring of emails we received to pass on to our Amish friends several of you recounted your own personal losses, such as a grandmother who lost two granddaughters in a car accident.  I myself have had some deep hurts and disappointments in life that I still simply don't understand.

The life of faith is tested, sometimes greatly.  Jesus forthrightly told us, "in the world you will have tribulation" although we are generally surprised when we do experience tribulation.

But at times of tribulation like this, faith is also demonstrated in such a powerful way. Already some amazing things are happening in the aftermath of this tragedy, although perhaps not reported beyond our area as the "newsworthiness" of the event passes.  Churches are coming together to pray and grieve. Last night I led a prayer for the situation at a service in an inner city Spanish church. Signs like the one pictured below Brooksyne's prayer are all over our area.

In keeping with their gentle nature a major theme heard from the Amish who've spoken out is "forgiveness." At the request of the Amish community trust funds being set up to aid the affected Amish families also include the killer's wife and family.

I spoke to friend who attended another large prayer meeting last night (the one that Michael W. Smith was at). She told how love and forgiveness absolutely filled the place.

Sam Stoltzfus, 63, an Amish woodworker who lives near the shooting scene and who was interviewed for national media, said the victims' families will be sustained by their faith.  "We think it was God's plan and we're going to have to pick up the pieces and keep going," he said. "A funeral to us is a much more important thing than the day of birth because we believe in the hereafter. The children are better off than their survivors."

Today, may those impacted find great peace in these words from the apostle Paul, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God" (2 Corinthians 1:3,4).  He is indeed "the God of all comfort."

Finally let us again recall the great statement of assurance many of us have memorized in Romans 8:28. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."  In some cases we'll just have to wait for the other side to see how it works for the good.  Through it all, let us stay faithful!


Be encouraged today,


Stephen C. Weber

Today's prayer: Father of All Comfort, I look to You for consolation and peace most especially during times of turmoil.  Incredibly Your supernatural peace does not depend on the physical circumstances seen by my eyes or heard by my ears.  You raise me up out of the gloom of despair as I place my hope not in the visible circumstances, but rather in You who renews my strength.  You enable me to soar on wings like eagles far above the troubling circumstances that weigh me down.  Keep my eyes, my ears and my heart lifted to the heavens where Your divine presence combats the assaulting storms of life.  I lift up my brothers and sisters who are storm weary, asking You to renew their strength as You help them to endure the trials of life this day.  Your comfort is inexhaustible and Your compassion overflows.  Thank You, Father.  Amen.