Update: June 2, 2022
As many of you can imagine, the past month has been full of sadness and grief. On June 2nd, a tragic shooting occurred involving two young members of our Salt Company family. Our hearts break for all involved, and we pray for everyone affected, especially the victims' families. I want to say "thank you" to those who have prayed for Cornerstone Church and The Salt Company during these weeks. Within minutes of the shooting on June 2nd, I had received dozens and dozens of texts from friends and family telling me they were praying for us. Since then, people have continued to reach out and let us know they are praying for me, Rachel, and the rest of our Salt Company Team. Thank you!
It's impossible to express the way God has met us in the midst of tragedy. Our team has felt in tangible ways that "The Lord is [truly] close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18)." Many have asked, "How are you doing?" The only answer I know to give is that I am stable. It would be untrue to say that I am okay — I don't imagine God designed us to be "okay" in the face of death and tragedy. Death is a clear reminder that we still live East of Eden, in a broken and sin-cursed world. Ever since our first parents Adam and Eve sinned, nothing has truly been okay. We were reminded of that with extreme clarity on June 2nd.
Death Will Not Have The Final Word
In the days that followed, we were also reminded that death does not and will not have the final word. Something Mark Vance (Lead Pastor) shared not long after the shooting is: (1) Life is short, (2) death is certain, and (3) what you do with Jesus will determine where you spend eternity. Something about tragedy makes that very clear. So, we don’t pretend our pain isn’t real because it is, but we also don’t pretend that our God isn’t real because He is. The reality is that tragedy exposes not only the world’s brokenness but also the beauty of the gospel.
“We don’t pretend our pain isn’t real because it is, but we also don’t pretend that our God isn’t real because He is.”
There are still emotions to process, trauma to work through, students to shepherd, and deep grief to carry, but the gospel is still true and the most beautiful news in the world. Here is just one example of how God has already used what Satan intended for evil and turned it into something good.
The picture above is a message one of our staff received from a girl she had never met. She wanted to know what it meant to have faith like Vivian and Eden. As a result, someone from our team sat down with her and shared the hope of the gospel. This is just one of many examples of God's goodness amid tragedy.
A Wounded Healer
The reality is that I have more questions than answers — I am a wounded healer. I'm a broken ministry leader trying to help students move towards healing while simultaneously trying to move towards healing myself. And yet, the truth that has been so sweet to me this past week is that Jesus is also a wounded healer. He is not distant from suffering. In fact, it's through his suffering that true healing comes. A quote that’s been meaningful to me over the past few weeks, even as I have wrestled with my own suffering and pain, is a quote by John Stott. He writes,
I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have had to turn away. And in my imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through his hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in Godforsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of his. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross that symbolizes divine suffering. The cross of Christ is God’s only self-justification in such a world as ours. The other gods were strong; but thou wast weak; they rode, but thou didst stumble to a throne; But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak, And not a god has wounds, but thou alone. [1]
— JOHN STOTT
I don’t understand the pain and suffering present in the world. But what I do know is that, at the cross, God refused to remain distant from pain and suffering but instead entered into it. He embraced suffering so that he could meet you in yours. He experienced pain so that he could sympathize with you in weakness. Jesus was rejected by God so that you never have to be. The surest place you can run in the midsts of suffering is to the cross, so set your gaze there.
We don’t serve a God who is immune to suffering. We serve a wounded healer. Bring your pain to him and allow him to walk with you in your suffering.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I welcome any questions, comments, or additional thoughts you may have. If you were helped by something you read, please share it with your sphere of influence. Thanks!
[1] John Stott, The Cross of Christ, pg. 326
[2] As you can imagine, writing has taken a back seat for the past few weeks. However, in the weeks to come, I look forward to writing and posting consistently again.