THE PETERSENS

Three years have gone by.

Not since Joshua Lee was born–though that day is coming quickly!  Our little boy is nearly three years old and I am enjoying his little personality more and more each day.  But three years ago this day, while we were all excited about Joshua coming into our lives, one of the most shocking things happened.  My little brother died.

His name was Lee Michael– and you will find part of Joshua’s namesake there.  He was a seventeen years old punky kid who loved the Lord–and I think he was a far more gifted individual than I.  If he were with us today he would have completed a year of college by now, probably still have some crazy hairdo, and likely contemplating spending his life being a heavy metal worship band leader, if any such thing is possible (?).  He was far less concerned with what people thought than me, and got away with a lot more cause he was the third child and people expected it.  At least that is what I think.  And I think he would have really enjoyed his nephew.  They would have certainly been a silly pair together.  I don’t think Lee really knew what to do with little kids, but I am sure if we left him in the same room with Joshua long enough we would have all found oodles of entertainment.

But then I got a phone call from my mother… there was an accident and Lee was gone.  I was shocked, and went to get Veronique from work and we began the long ride home from Minneapolis to Slayton.   I eventually learned in that ride that this was no accident, but Lee was a case of teenage suicide and my poor sister had found him.

I had held to a Reformed view of God for a few years by then.  For those who do not know what that means, it revolves around the understanding that God’s wisdom and power are beyond what man can fathom, and ultimately all things come into existence by his bidding.  Isaiah 46:8-13 and Psalms 135:5-6 will give you a good summary of this understanding of God, which is smeared on just about every page of the Bible and applied to Jesus himself in Colossians 1:15-19 and Hebrews 1. But what does that mean in the face of something like this?  I will be frank here.  We all know how sickening it can be when something so important as the character of God becomes a silly, simple academic debate more about proving the extent of our own knowledge than it is about coming to know our Creator better.  No one is really satisfied with this in their day to day life, nor does it nourish the soul and bring about holiness.  And in the face of one of the most horrible evils on the planet, it does not satisfy in these times either.  When the opportunity comes where we are faced with the depths of evil yet present in the human heart, we need more grace than academic understanding will bring.  We need knowledge of God that is intimate.  This kind of knowledge brings us to a state of wonder–and ultimately trust–often in spite of flowing tears.

Sin is rampant in this world, and will leave its terrible mark on everyone at one point or another.  We do not blame God for the terrible things that happen in ife.  We blame sin.  Yet sin does not rule this world, God does.  Sin does not have the last say, God does.  It was He who pronounced the Curse, and it is He who has brought the Savior Christ, and it will be Him who wipes the tears away in the end and throws death into the lake of fire.  In the end, sin will only accomplish what God intends for it to accomplish in this dark world, which seems to be to provide a rich and fertile soil of brokenness where hope in Christ can be grown.  This hope can not die.  Our great compassionate God is at work in a bitter and wicked world.  It is his goal to free and save his children, and when the unthinkable happens it reminds us how much we need salvation.

“Even in the most mature Christian’s life there are deep pockets of incurable pain.”  My Greek Teacher Dr. Black quoted this sentence in class, but it escapes me who originated it.  In this life, it will be true.  Time passes, and we think about our hurts less and less.  But when the opportunity arises through the tears we will often find that the pain does not diminish They still hurt the same… but the Lord is still there to comfort.  But what we hope for is the final comfort.  When Christ comes again, riding on the clouds, shining like the sun, and with a trumpet call everything that is horribly wrong in this world will finally be set right.  For those who trust Christ the pain will not last forever.  And this ought to make us smile and the tears not so bitter.

I find that this time of the year there is a song that I always end up singing in my head as I carry out my daily chores.  There just happens to be a youTube movie about it, so I will share it with you as a fitting end.  It is fairly popular and most of you probably know it.  The Chorus states exactly what I am trying to convey is far fewer words…