Minneapolis bridge collapse

Last night I was watching a baseball game on television and decided at 9 pm to quickly turn to Larry King Live on CNN to see who his guests would be for the show. Instead of Larry I found Wolf Blitzer delivering a breaking news story about a disaster in Minnesota.

I was shocked to learn that a bridge in Minneapolis over the storied Mississippi River – loaded with vehicles and motorists – had suddenly and unexpectedly collapsed. At that point in the broadcast Wolf was still trying to identify which bridge in the large metropolis it was. We soon learned it was I-35W which runs north-south through the city's heart.

As a father, my thoughts immediately turned to our youngest daughter who has been studying in that city at the University of Minneapolis. We thank God she was not in the city at that time and was safe in Missouri where she has been employed for the summer. My wife phoned her to inform her of the disaster. Our daughter said she has crossed this bridge a few times in her travels around the city.

Today I received an email from our Minnesota pastor's wife about a Church matter. I asked her in my reply if any of our Church brethren had been involved in the collapse and was greatly relieved to learn none were. Having known our daughter from the months she has been attending our church services in Minneapolis, this friend wrote that when she heard the news about the disaster she first thought about our daughter knowing the bridge was close to the campus.

Naturally I contrast our reassuring personal news (for which I thank God) to the many in the city who today still do not know the whereabouts or the condition of their loved ones. By now many of us have viewed with horror the security camera video of the actual collapse showing the bridge and vehicles on board heading for the river. This image causes us to reflect on those September 11 images of planes crashing into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Then we realize we have tragically witnessed incidents involving people on their way to death or injury in "living color." What an age that we can view such scenes from around the world so soon after they occur – leaving indelible imprints in our minds!

At the dinner hour tonight I switched between ABC and CBS news on television to catch the latest reports on the rescue and cleanup efforts. I was struck by the concluding comments of each anchor person which asked the timeless question, "Why?"

As with the tsunami in south Asia and the Katrina disaster in our Gulf States some years ago, humans seem to characteristically ask this question. Answers people offer may satisfy some, but not those who seek a more theological response. For those who were injured or died, we instinctively ask, "Why them? Why then?" Was it mere coincidence which brought them to that bridge at just that instant?

The even more bewildering question is, "Why did God permit it?" Such questions enter the complexities of what is known as theodicy: defense of God's goodness and omnipotence in view of the existence of evil.

In thinking over this latest heartbreak, I was reminded of a story in the Gospels in which Jesus briefly addressed this timeless question: "There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:1-5).

All of us living in this imperfect, accident-prone and sin-ladened, world need to understand that we are all subject to such disasters, if we just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time – unless God prevents our involvement. This universe is subject to the second law of thermodynamics. This life is fleeting and unsatisfactory. This world is not a utopia no matter how hard we try to "make it a better place."

God did not intend mankind to be estranged from Him by sin. Rather, going back to the Garden of Eden we learn God wanted to walk together in the cool of the evening with the fleshly human creatures He had made for Himself. But they chose, and we still choose, to go our independent way even though God warned us doing so would lead to suffering, misery and death. Ever since, we have been dying without exception, whether through disasters or the long, slow, aging decline to our final breaths.

The Apostle Peter took Jesus' command to the logical next step: "Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call'" (Acts 2:37-39).

The good news is that if we repent and are baptized we can be restored in our relationship with God now and join Him for eternity where suffering and death are no more: "And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away'" (Revelation 21:3-4).

But that will be in a very different world – one in which there is a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1). The Bible calls this the Kingdom of God.

If you would like to know more about repentance and baptism, request our free booklet Christian Baptism.