Imported Poems

Recently, one of my brother's friends experienced the instantaneous loss of his wife and three children due to a car crash. Only one body made it out of the fire - the rest had no open casket because nothing was left.

I asked my brother what do you say to people when that happens - it was God's will? They're in a better place? etc. I tried to imagine how I would feel in that situation, and I just couldn't conceive it. Anyway, here's my brother's response - I think you might find it enlightening on the subject of death:
(NOTE: My brother is the pastor of that church and has his PHD in church planting):

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Thanks for thinking about me. I never thought my first time on television would be in this type of situation. It has been very tough physically and emotionally, but it has also been very cathartic spiritually. My faith is strong right now, mostly because I have seen God’s utter providence in every moment since the accident. I have seen a church minister as the body of Christ in a way I have never witnessed in my life. I have already heard about lives that have been changed through the hope of the Gospel. I think the kingdom-repercussions of this won’t be fully realized for months.

That’s a tough one. There are no specific answers. When I get the chance I am going to post my sermon from the funeral on our website. It doesn’t answer specific questions about this situation, but deals with evil in our world as a whole. It doesn’t take God off the throne (nothing happens apart from his will), but it does explain that terrible things happen because this world is jacked up (because of us). God chooses to allow these events to serve his greater purpose (which we can’t see fully). I tied the anger and wrath that people feel about this situation to the anger and wrath God poured out on Christ for sin – all to give us hope that this tragedy was not the end of this family, but a glorious transference into God’s presence.