Eight years ago, I was living and working on the West Coast. One Tuesday, the radio turned on at 6:25 PDT. I was expecting to hear the Wall Street Journal Report. Instead, reports came of debris coming out of some building in New York.
My husband thought it was accident similar to one that had happened in 1945, when a B-25 bomber accidentally flew into the Empire State Building: The Empire State Building Plane Crash. We turned on the TV to see what they were talking about on the radio. Not one, but two jets had flown into the World Trade Center.
As soon as we said, "This is no accident," reports came of another jet crashing into the Pentagon, and then another plane downed in Pennsylvania. Soon, all air traffic in the US was grounded.
"You're not going to work right now," my husband told me. Yes. We were under attack.
Later that morning, no further attacks advanced to the West Coast. Many of my co-workers were at the workplace, soldiering on as normally as they could, and I eventually came in. During part of this eventful day, we stood out in the lobby, watching the news as surreal scenes replayed of the Twin Towers collapsing. Terrified bystanders ran for cover, like a scripted disaster movie.
One of my co-workers touched my shoulder. "You are a person of faith. Why would God allow this to happen?"
Certainly, no one, except God, has the answer for this one, but I gave it my the best shot. "It seems in this world God allows evil to run its course."
One example in the Holy Scriptures came to mind. Saul, the first king of Israel, was given many second chances, but he turned into a mad king, tormented by an evil spirit. Then God picked David, a man after His own heart, to replace Saul as the next king. Yet, evil ran its course for some 15 years before God dealt with Saul and turned the kingdom over to David. During these years between the anointing and ascending, David gathered his faithful followers.
There is a corollary to this present day. St. Paul refers to the devil as "the god of this world" (2 Cor 4:4), much like the time when mad King Saul was ruling over Israel. Yet, God's anointed - the Lord Jesus, the Son of David - is now calling out His people - the church. One day, like when God had dealt with Saul, He will deal with the devil and drive evil from His universe forever.
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Photo from everystockphoto.com
World Trade Center - Aiming for Heaven: http://everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=4504113
