Anxiety, Agony and Acknowledgments

Black and white are not the only colors in this world, there is also gray and further more different shades of gray. This makes it harder to evaluate an absolute and fitting answer to every question and a response to every situation. Many answers depend on the circumstances there are to be found in and many responses depend on the time and motivation that stand behind them.

In this case I do not know much about capital punishment, the means that are used and the circumstances that bring people to the gurney, the only thing I have to go on is parts of the movie we watched yesterday (Into the Abyss) and the opinions that were presented there. Being not very well informed can hinder a person and the opinion they form, but I will do the best I can with what I have been given. This is why I have to agree with the reverend that was featured in the beginning of the movie and admit, “I don’t know”.

In this position, where I see the pain, sickness, misery and people that do not know what their purpose in life is, I kind of feel like Joseph, from the story about the rainbow-colored coat. Joseph had to encounter many challenges, such as being sold in to slavery by his brothers, serving the Potiphar and sitting in prison, so the only thing that was left for him was to trust God. In the end he was rewarded and fulfilled a great purpose the Lord had in mind for Joseph,  that he himself could not have imagined. So when I am in the position where I cannot fathom the reason for the things that are happening around me, I place my faith in God and hand over my anxiety, agony and acknowledge that I can do all things only in Him.

The truth is that some things our mind cannot understand and does not have the capacity to comprehend, for example God allowing children to suffer and die of things such as cancer or ALS. I have had my share of questions about the evil and pain that are in the world and I have asked God, “Why?”, but I will not receive an answer to every question and will not have a complete understanding of every issue in today’s world. I do not know why God allows capital punishment, the New Testament does not teach anything on the specific issue of capital punishment in modern day life, but it does teach that God loves the world; he is involved in the lives of people and cares for them deeply, he wants a relationship with each one of us through his son Jesus Christ in order to offer us forgiveness and love, so this is what I hold on to, because this is what I know for certain.