That any tree should be the subject of such wanton vandalism is distressing enough but it is more sickening still when the tree in question is the focal point of a nationally recognised area of outstanding natural beauty enjoyed by countless numbers of people every year. But the damage inflicted at Sycamore Gap this week pales into insignificance compared to the infinitely more grievous harm done when the one cut down is a fifteen year old girl from Croydon, heedlessly attacked and killed as she made her way to school.
And so it would seem that there are those who delight to destroy what others take pleasure in, those who, failing to recognise the value of those around them, see individuals as disposable, and who consider it acceptable to deny to others what they do not want themselves. But sadly it is not only they that I can point a finger at, for I see in myself the same destructive tendencies that are present in all too many others.
The problem of evil is one that is frequently raised by those who object to the idea of an all powerful God, for how, they not unreasonably ask, could one who purports to be good allow bad things to happen such as have occurred these past few days. But the problem continues to exist for those who reject the notion of a perfect arbiter of right and wrong since evil stubbornly remains a reality in a supposedly impersonal, mechanistic and amoral universe, a universe where any sense of right and wrong, of good and bad, would be nothing but a figment of our imaginations, the product of minds merely conditioned to think in such illogical terms.
Because only in a moral world do our tears make sense.
So why do bad things happen? Why would a coach overturn on a motorway, killing the driver and a teenage passenger and leaving another youngster with life changing injuries? Is it for us to ever fully know the answers to these questions? Probably not. In the book that bears his name, Job is never given a reason for why he has suffered unjustly. Even so, he is comforted ultimately by the vast ‘otherness’ of the God to whom he voices his complaint. And we can be comforted too. For Job’s experience points us to another whose life was similarly characterised by unjust suffering, to one who, though innocent was pronounced guilty and nailed to a cross.
As it is written, ‘cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’. And so Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. [Galatians 3:13]
Though sinless, Christ suffered in our place, bearing the penalty that we deserved for all that we have ever done wrong.
He died so that we can be forgiven for all the harm that we have caused and so have the curse of death lifted from our shoulders.
He was felled so that we, the fallen, might one day be raised to eternal life where every tear will be wiped away and death will be no more. [Revelation 21:4]
So there is hope in our often dark and sometimes sad world. There is a tree of life whose leaves are there for the healing of the nations. [Revelation 22:2]. It’s a tree that speaks of a better tomorrow, a tree that promises an end to all the darkness. a tree that guarantees the future.
And it’s a tree that will surely stand forever.
Related posts:
To read ‘T.S. Eliot, Jesus and the Paradox of the Christian Life’, click here
To read “Why do bad things happen to good people – a tentative suggestion”, click here
To read “Luther and the global pandemic – on becoming a theologian of the cross”, click here
To read “Suffering- A Personal View”, click here.
To read ‘On NOT leaving your comfort zone’, click here
To read “Hope comes from believing the promises of God”, click here
To read ‘Looking back to move confidently forward’, click here
To read ‘The Resurrection – is it just rhubarb?’, click here
To read “Hope comes from believing the promises of God”, click here
To read ‘Faith and Doubt’, click here
To read ‘What becomes of the broken hearted? Sorrowful yet always rejoicing on Palm Sunday’, click here
To read ‘Why do bad things happen to good people? Sorrowful yet always rejoicing on Good Friday’, click here
To read ‘Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things? Rejoicing, though temporarily sorrowful, on Easter Day’, click here.
Some musings 