On Monday the unfortunate people of Boston went from having a really great day to having one of horror and chaos. All within seconds. And just as quickly as those bombs detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, the lines of social media took off running with expressions of sorrow, fear and concern.
And anger.
When bad things happen we have a tendency to spew unsubstantiated blame and predictions. It’s easy to fixate on how evil the world has become (and, of course, in our opinion it’s always caused by the sins of someone else, never our own). But God blesses us with many good things and those are the things on which we should focus.
Here is proof that even on this Patriots’ Day, our world is still benevolent and wondrously blessed:
- These soldiers did the marathon wearing 40-pound packs. Then they went into action saving lives.
- Thousands of Bostonians have offered housing to those displaced by the explosions.
- Impressively, investigators are studying crowdsourced videos, photography and cell phone data for clues to the bomber. These days everyone has the ability to provide surveillance. Maybe this will be a deterrent to anyone contemplating a crime.
- Sometimes U.S. laws do not agree with our religious beliefs. Conversely, sometimes our religious practices are ungodly. Nonetheless, our government allows us to practice the faith of our choice. For that, we need to be less complaining and more thankful.
- God is always with us, even though we’re not always with him. “I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”
- “By the grace of God, I was slower.” This Wisconsin pastor was on pace to finish just as the bombs exploded. God had other plans.
One more to add to the list. Regina Brett is a superb Cleveland columnist and she puts things into perspective when she says, “This scary world still holds magic and beauty.”
http://www.cleveland.com/brett/blog/index.ssf/2013/04/this_scary_world_still_holds_m.html