Indeed it's a very well-done movie, supported by a cast of excellent actors, especially the children who portrayed the Benett family. All the pathos and emotion of what words can never really describe was ably captured on the big screen. Seeing the scale of destruction, panic and chaos magnified up there, I can't even imagine how bad the reality must have been for the people affected. As the story goes, the entire Benett family ultimately reunited, but their survival only sharpens the poignancy of the unasked and unanswered question - what about the rest who didn't? There must be so many many more grieving families whose lives must carry on despite their loss.
Truly how frail is human life; here today and gone tomorrow. We are but a 'mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes' (James 4:14). One minute we could be enjoying life to the hilt with nary a care at all, the very next second the ground (or in this case the ocean) could just swallow us up. How sad that it takes a tragedy to shake us up and remind us of the fragility of life that we too often take for granted. It's always the case that we only appreciate the preciousness of something when we lose it.
What pulled at my heart-strings particularly was the reunion of the father with his 3 sons. The chances were well-nigh impossible for all of them, separated as they were, to be in the same vicinity on the same street at that same moment in time. What else does one call the impossible but a miracle? And who can wrought miracles except the God of the impossible? Which just goes to show that in the darkest most hopeless of all situations, God is able to turn things around for good.
Obviously the objection arises why didn't God do the same for other families searching for their loved ones or better yet, why didn't He just stop the tsunami in its tracks? For every survivor, how many perished? For every family that celebrated, how many grieved and no doubt still continue to grieve the loss of dearly beloved? The poignancy rips at the heart. Why is it that God seems to bless one person and not another ? Is He 'playing games' with humankind? Are we just nothing more than 'chess pieces' He arbitrarily moves around at His whim and fancy? If God can grant us a parking lot in a crowded shopping mall, why can't/won't He do something about all the evil in the world? Why pray, after all since God is supposedly sovereign, He will just do whatever He wants to do in the first place anyhow? Why would I want to believe, much less trust a God who seems so 'unfair' in His dealings? No wonder so many don't want to bother with or about God anymore. Easier to just live life according to as and how we like it than grapple with tough questions which garner either no or rather unsatisfactory answers.
I have had my share of tough questions (I still do, by the way). I could say God 'refused' to cure my husband's cancer, despite my faith and tons of prayers. I remember a fren who to this day, can't forgive God for 'letting' her innocent baby die. And sure, I asked why, who wouldn't? Strange we have no problem accepting 'happy' things, but when we are unhappy over something, the first question is Why like this, wan? After all my asking, the answer inevitably comes back to "Because He is God." I know, it's not a 'nice' answer. The cynic understandably says "You Christians have got it pat down. If something good happens, you say Praise the Lord. If something bad happens, you say It's God's will. Either way, God wins." The problem with that is, in the first place, it's not about winning or losing against God.
In case we have forgotten, He's on our side. If we think our suffering is so so bad, what about the suffering of a totally innocent Man's crucifixion on the cross? It took Jesus 3 excruciating hours to die strung up between heaven and earth. What's that - you say you never asked Jesus to die for you? Precisely. None of us asked for it. But He did it anyway, not because anyone asked for it, but becoz everyone needs it, though no one knew it then and many still don't know it now. Actually God could simply vapourise this earth (and all mankind) in the blink of an eye, but He didn't; the sun is still rising and setting everyday; people are still marrying, partying, and living (without God). God could have washed His hands off us and let us all go to hell, but He didn't, instead He laid down His own deity, came down as one of humankind, gave up His own earthly life so that all who choose to believe Him can have eternal life. It certainly wasn't a fair exchange for Jesus; He was without sin, why should He die for sinners such as I? Of all the 'why' questions in life that anyone can ask, I think this must be the toughest, for I will never be able to comprehend the nature of this divine love of Christ that is so driven, so passionate, that He would willingly sacrifice Himself for the sake of people who don't want, don't understand or don't appreciate it.
"Why" must be the all-time favorite question asked by kids. Every answer is met with another Why, until such time the parent in exasperation simply shuts up the child by the final answer - Because your mother/father say so. In my days, that was sufficient to put a stop to all further questions; I accepted the authority of my parents as...well, authority, even though I may not be exactly happy about it. It didn't make me doubt their love for me. I guess that's how I finally learnt to accept my own finite limitations as a created being. After all, who am I to question my Creator? What do I know about running the universe in the first place? The Bible never says that God is fair; but there's an awful lot that says God is just and righteous. I am not privy to God's ways of thinking or doing. But I do know the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength (1 Cor.1:25). If He seems arbitrary it's only becoz He knows what He is doing, and I don't. He sees the whole of eternity whilst my eye-sight is so short I can't even see beyond the end of my nose. If He doesn't do things my way, it's because He knows a better way. If He doesn't answer my Why questions, He simply wants to teach me something else.
Many things I may not understand, many 'whys' may not be answered to my satisfaction, but one unshakeable truth I do know - God loves me, and He really knows best. If I let Him into my life, every good comes by His grace, every bad can be redeemed. It doesn't make trouble easier to bear, but it does teach me that I can live well in spite of it. It doesn't mean all my prayers will be answered how I want them answered, but it does mean He answers everyone of them in His time, in His way, for the simple reason I acknowledge Him as my Abba Father, and He acknowledges me as His child. It doesn't mean there are no more tough questions in life, but it does mean this foundational truth enables me to live by faith, trusting that He is forever faithful.
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.... those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint..." Isaiah 40:28,31
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