Early Sunday morning a gunman opened fire in an Orlando nightclub; killing 49 people. This horrific act of violence has brought pain to a nation of people.
And we have a problem with pain...
Some say it was the guns. Some say that it was gun control. Some blame it on "radical Islam." Some blame it on a person. Some on the system. Some believe it could have been prevented. Some say more is on the way.
In the end it really doesn't matter. No, not really. But America is sad, and furious, and frustrated, and looking...looking...looking.
We are looking for something to blame. It's not enough to blame this shooter; because...well he's dead. And even if he weren't, there would never be a trial big enough, and there would never be a punishment strong enough to extinguish the pain. This hurt is so much bigger than a gunman; and so we are looking...needing...desperately searching for something to blame.
And so for the next few months there will be interviews and opinions...there will be blogs. Authorities will question the wife. People will stand on platforms of gun control, immigration, 2nd Amendment rights, hate, tolerance, persecution, and justice. Orlando will trend, and then the tide will slowly go out. We will not forget the people who were killed. But soon, Sunday night will be numbered with the other unspeakable tragedies that systematically horrify the haunts of our minds.
And after all is said and done. After the medical examiners, examine. After the detectives, uncover. After the judges, judge. And after the memorials, remember. After the politicians leverage. After the advocates, advocate. And after the moon and the sun chase each other around earth a couple of hundred times. And after the tide slowly goes out. Nobody...not you...nor I...not anybody, will be closer to peace of mind, or the satisfaction that lies therewithin.
And that's the problem with pain...
The problem with pain is that it doesn't make sense. There is no sense to be made. The problem with pain, is that in our pursuit for some semblance of understanding, we so often go 'round and 'round until we are sick and dizzy with the illusion of meaning. But there is no meaning. The illusion is smoke and vapor. There is no meaning, or purpose, or understanding to pain. And so in the end it really doesn't matter. No, not really.
Ecclesiastes 1:14 – "I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind."We understand cause and effect. This gunman decided to do something purely hateful. People are dead, and suffering, and in pain because of it. But there is not understanding in it. Scientists can walk us through the step-by-step process of a growing cancer cell. But they cannot explain why this child grew a tumor in their brain, while their friends are playing in the hot sun, and shagging pop flies over their summer break. We know how a funnel cloud forms, but we can't explain why a tornado rips the path of destruction it chooses; making precision cuts, like a enigmatic surgeon. And the burning ember...the problem at the center of the questions, the interviews, the vigils, and the 'round the clock coverage–it's not a problem of what, or how, or when, or who. The problem of pain is the question: Why? And the problem with pain is that there is no answer.
Pain has no answer. Pain has no meaning. Pain has no satisfaction, or end, or handle in which to grab it. Pain is relentless, and ruthless, and always by your side like a shadow to nag you. Pain is the splash of cold water; waking you up to the fact that you are still in this–the fallen world. The truth is we don't really know what to do with pain, because we weren't created to experience it. God created you and me to live with Him–a place of paradise. A place where He would be our God, and provide for our every need. Pain is as alien and incredibly alarming to our senses, as the news of Orlando scrolling up my news feed. Pain is an anomaly. And it's incredibly frustrating to acknowledge that fact, when so many people desperately need to heal from this. We will forever in this life be in pursuit to ease, relieve, and stamp out pain. And to a greater or lesser degree we will. But we can't kill pain. Pain so easily finds a bed in many houses...with so many rooms. Pain will continue be–without fail–a part of this fallen world.
but
shhhhh - let me whisper something in your ear...
Pain has a real problem. Jesus has put an end to it. Jesus has dealt the deathblow. Pain is currently running on the death spasm of adrenaline. Pain is dying–pain is already dead. Pain just doesn't know it yet. Jesus Kingdom is coming–His Kingdom is already here. Through His death and Resurrection Jesus has destroyed pain and death forever. The new and everlasting regime is just about to take rule. Jesus has done it all. Jesus has brought meaning to the meaningless. Life to the lifeless. Hope to the hopeless.
It's ok to continue to try and make sense of things. It's ok to listen to all sides of the story. It's ok to listen to the talking heads on TV. It's ok to listen to the candidates standing behind their suits and American flag pins. It's ok. It's ok for me and you. But it is not our burden. We don't have to have an answer for pain. We don't have to talk the pain away. It is not our burden. Jesus has taken on the burden of pain...taken it upon His own shoulders. And He walked out of the arena as the victor! As the tide slowly goes out on Orlando, and there is nothing left to say. Join me in empty hands, and eyes scanning the horizon for Jesus–the solution for pain!
Until then...let us relieve pain. Relieve pain wherever we can, however we can, to the highest degree we can, for as long as we possibly can. Lessen somebody's pain today, and every day. And wait for the Lord of Lords who walks over the corpse of pain, like the doormat leading the way to His Heavenly Kingdom!
May God be with the families and loved ones of those injured and killed in this horrific shooting Sunday morning.
