Thank God we now have some space between us and that tragic day at Columbine.  It's been a difficult twelve days and there's not any thinking person among us who has not been affected.

          After the memorial service last Sunday a Lutheran pastor was quoted as saying the evangelistic tone of sermons and songs made him feel like he had been hit over the head with Jesus.  I'm surprised he didn't realize that's exactly what God was doing with all of us.  Columbine is God whacking us all upside the head.  Now we hear of adults complaining they didn't get their way.  And so we see it's the youth who are showing more adult behavior, and more forgiveness, than some adults who should know better.

          What happened on April 20 could have happened in any large school in any city in America.  That it happened in our back yards is both a blessing and a cursing.  The curse of it all is obvious.  But the blessing is that it happened in a school that has more Bible study groups per student than any other public school in the United States.  Satan was out to destroy the presence of God there and create mayhem.  And on the surface it appears he did a good job.  But the apparent destruction resulted in a greater opportunity for Christian witness than could have been found in any other way.  Satan tried throwing water on the Gospel, but instead threw gasoline on the fire of the Spirit.  As a man told me, "Jesus fed thousands through loaves and fishes, but Cassie Burnell's witness fed millions through CNN."

          The questions I keep asking myself are these:  "What is God telling us in all this?"  "What can we learn from all this?"  One thing is for sure -- God is at work in this tragedy.  He's doing His work, showing His grace, creating His church, building His kingdom.  Moreover, He's talking to us -- talking to us through His Word, talking to us through His church and almost shouting to us through the events that make our headlines.

          God has always spoken to His people.  One day near the end of His ministry Jesus was talking with His disciples.  He had raised Lazarus.  He had rode the donkey humbly into Jerusalem.  He'd cleansed the temple, He'd washed His disciples' feet, and told Peter he'd deny Him.  Now He told them He was going away.  After three years of pursuing a love relationship with His few chosen men, Jesus said, "I'm going away to prepare a place for you."

          But first He said, "Let not your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God;  trust also in me."  It was a moment of surprise and little bit of fear for His disciples.  He said, "It's time to trust in God, time to stop thinking it all depends on you, time to stop trusting in your church, or on your doctrines, or your possessions, and it's time to trust in God."

          God wants a relationship with us.  He wants you and me connected with Him in a real and personal way.  He said in John 15, "No longer do I call you servants;  instead I call you my friends."  That's as up close and personal as God can get - to call us His friends.  God wants a loving relationship with us that's real and personal.

          As God does His work in this world, He invites us to become involved with Him, not as spectators, but as participants.  God doesn't need a cheering section in the grandstands.  He needs players on the field.  The coach can't do it all himself.  The players -- each one of us sitting here this morning -- are the workers in His Kingdom.  He's calling on us to share our faith, to invite people to worship with us, and to show love in all we do.

          God wants us involved with Him in His work, and so He speaks to us.  But how does God speak to us?  It is only through Word and the Sacraments?  Are there not other ways God speaks to us?  And if He is speaking to us, are we hearing what He is saying?

          I believe God speaks through many other ways, such as the circumstances and events at Columbine.  And sometimes He even speaks to us through a still, small voice that comes into one's heart after weeks and months of prayer.  "Step out of your safety zone," He says, "and watch how I'll take care of you."  Sometimes He talks to us through a friend, like one who says, "Go start a mission over there."  God is at work and He wants us involved with Him in His work, so He speaks to us.  But are we listening?

          Here's where real faith and trust come in.  When God invites us to be involved in His work, it will lead us to a crisis of faith.  Will we really trust Him now?  Is our faith built on genuine trust in Him, or on our human cleverness?  Are we Christians who talk a good talk but can't walk the walk?  Or are we building our life on the false security of possessions or power or pleasure?

          God's invitation to follow Him leads us to a crisis of belief that requires genuine faith.  You and I need to get out of the way and let Him lead.  We need to check out our priorities.  We need to admit our human frailty, and maybe even be brought to our knees in humility.  If you and I heed God's invitation to follow Him, it will lead us to a crisis of belief.  It will require great faith.  Will we really trust in God?  And it'll also take some action on our part.  You can't follow Christ standing still.  You can't follow Jesus with your shoes nailed to the floor.

          You and I must make some adjustments -- major adjustments -- if we're going to join God in what He's doing.  In Acts 8 the angel told Philip to go talk to the Ethiopian fellow in the chariot.  Philip could've said he was too busy with his work, or too busy taking kids to soccer.  He could've said, "Go on -- angels don't talk to people!"  Instead he heard and he obeyed.  Following God means making major adjustments, changes in our lifestyle, changes in our priorities.  Often these major adjustments come through events we can't control.

          But only as we obey God can we come to know Him.  Only as we obey Him can we learn to trust Him.  To trust involves obedience.  God says, "Jump -- I'll catch you."  Our first thought is to put down a safety net.

          A man was climbing a mountain when he slipped and nearly fell off a cliff.  In desperation, he grabbed a small tree, and found himself hanging over a thousand foot canyon by a little tree branch.  He called out, "Help!  Help!  Is anybody up there?" but no one seemed to hear him.  He shouted as his hands grew weary of hanging on.  He kept calling out, "Help -- is anybody up there?  Is anybody up there?"  Just then a voice spoke, "I'm here."  "Who's that?" the man asked.  "This is God, and I'm here for you."  "Can you help me?" asked the man.  "Of course I can," said God.  "Just let go and I'll catch you."  "You want me to let go and you'll catch me?" said the man.  "Yes," said God.  The man looked down at the thousand foot drop and said, "Is anybody else up there?"

          Only as we obey His call and trust Him will we come to know His awesome power.  Only when we obey His call can we know His ability to provide for us.  And only then will we know His great and marvelous love for us.  It's not easy to trust in God, my friends, but it's time to stop trusting ourselves and trust Him for everything in life.

          The disciples didn't like to hear Jesus talk about leaving. But He did leave, and with the power of the Holy Spirit, they did learn to trust.  God is talking to us these days, my friends.  Are we listening to what He's saying?  He's telling us we are forgiven people.  We are loved with an everlasting love.  He's telling us we don't need to trust ourselves any more.

          He's saying, "Let not your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God;  trust also in me."  Don't be afraid, for HE is in control of this confusing planet.  Satan was not in control last April 20 -- God was.  He was walking the halls of Columbine High that day, welcoming some of His children into His Kingdom.  True, we all wanted things to be different, but "His ways are not our ways." (Isaiah 55:8)   One day we'll all know why this happened.

          God loves us, my friends.  The events of the past two weeks do not take that love away.  Nothing can ever take God's love away.  St. Paul once said to the people of Rome living in fear:  "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:  'For your sake we face death all day long;  we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35-39)

          God's everlasting love for us caused Him to sacrifice His only Son.  God shed tears on Calvary just as He shed tears during these past weeks.  He knows our hurts and is there to give us strength.  He forgives our sins and opens the door of eternal life to all who trust in Him.  It's time to trust in God my friends, to trust Him like we've never trusted before.

          May you and I find our joy again.  May God dry our tears of sadness and replace them with His gladness.  May we all one day rejoice at the throne of God, where "He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Rev. 21:4)   Amen!

Copyright © 1999 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.