By now you know of the recent events at a nightclub in Orlando, the senseless, cowardly killing of 49 innocent victims. It’s the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, and the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11. In seeking to process this tragedy with teens, or with your own children, you might find yourself asking: What’s the big pull-back view? Is there one?
In a final, intimate conversation with His disciples, Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). As we lay those words and other Scripture scenes over the tragic event in Orlando, or any tragedy actually, three big pull-back views do seem to come into focus.
- Evil exists.
Scripture states very clearly that we will face evil every day. It will present itself as consequences of a fallen world through disease and tragic accidents. It will present itself as one person unfairly inflicting harm over another. In John 16 Jesus said to His disciples that we will have trouble in this world. Within months of Jesus sharing those words, those very disciples faced that very trouble. In Acts 12 both James and Peter were imprisoned by King Herod. Peter, miraculously, is set free. James, tragically, is killed by the sword. Why is one freed and the other killed? It’s the indiscriminate, unfair nature of evil.
- Good exists.
In the same breath Jesus used when saying that we will have trouble in this world, He also told His disciples to take heart because He has overcome the world. This tandem declaration, that we would face evil but under the protective coating of Jesus’ work, gives us the perspective with which to navigate cowardly shootings, ruthless diseases, and tragic accidents. Jesus did not promise us that bad things won’t happen. He did promise us that we will be surrounded by His love when they do happen.
- There is more good than evil.
Even though it often does not seem like it, there is more good than evil in this world. Jesus qualified His statement about trouble and overcoming by saying, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.” Despite the evil around us and the inner turmoil it creates, personal peace is achievable. These words alone tell us there is a net gain for good when you weigh a fallen world against a world overcome with the love of Jesus.
Concluding Thought:
The teens in our youth ministries, and the children in our homes, will be this force of good for the next generations, driven by the overwhelming love found in the message of the Gospel. In Romans 1 we’re told that wicked people were inventing ways of doing evil. This inventing is still going on, and it seems the inventions get exponentially worse from one generation to the next. It’s scary to think where that process will be by the time my one-year old and two-year old reach adolescence. Thankfully, there is a Force for inventing ways of doing good. We can out-invent and out-love the evil around us.
Questions for discussion:
- How can we counteract “inventing ways of doing evil” (Rom. 1:30) by inventing ways of doing good?
- How can the truth that Jesus has overcome this fallen world bring comfort and hope to those experiencing tragic events of this fallen world?
- What can we do to help those around us see that there is more good than evil in this world?