Another day, another mass shooting in America. Another day when man's inhumanity to man is the top story in the news cycle. Tears are shed, social media goes haywire, and pundits from all over seem to have an opinion on what should be done. It can be so sad and depressing.
It seems as if there's been so much of this lately, and as I was thinking about it this afternoon, I remembered that practically from the beginning, it has always been so. And I went back and read Moses, chapter 7. If you recall, in this chapter, the Prophet Enoch is shown a vision of all of God's creations, from the beginning to the end. And he sees all the tragic things, and then he sees God weeping. So Enoch asks God how it is that He can weep? Because as Enoch sees things, God is God and He's all powerful. The Lord then explains to Enoch that it's because we humans are the work of his own hands. And that He gave us agency, and that He commanded us to use that agency to love one another and to choose Him. But sometimes we don't, and it makes us suffer. And when we suffer, He suffers. Once Enoch understands this, he weeps also.
Days like today can be really discouraging. It is really easy to lose hope and to wonder where God is. And Enoch definitely felt this way. But the Lord lovingly reassured him that he could lift up his heart and be glad. Then - he shows Enoch how to be glad. And that is by the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ, and the saving ordinances of the gospel.
So the takeaway is that bad things happen. Sometimes it's when people don't use their agency to love one another. This makes us sad, and even makes God sad. But all can be made right in the end, because of the atonement. Which reminds me of another scripture, Psalm 30:5 - "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."
It seems as if there's been so much of this lately, and as I was thinking about it this afternoon, I remembered that practically from the beginning, it has always been so. And I went back and read Moses, chapter 7. If you recall, in this chapter, the Prophet Enoch is shown a vision of all of God's creations, from the beginning to the end. And he sees all the tragic things, and then he sees God weeping. So Enoch asks God how it is that He can weep? Because as Enoch sees things, God is God and He's all powerful. The Lord then explains to Enoch that it's because we humans are the work of his own hands. And that He gave us agency, and that He commanded us to use that agency to love one another and to choose Him. But sometimes we don't, and it makes us suffer. And when we suffer, He suffers. Once Enoch understands this, he weeps also.
Days like today can be really discouraging. It is really easy to lose hope and to wonder where God is. And Enoch definitely felt this way. But the Lord lovingly reassured him that he could lift up his heart and be glad. Then - he shows Enoch how to be glad. And that is by the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ, and the saving ordinances of the gospel.
So the takeaway is that bad things happen. Sometimes it's when people don't use their agency to love one another. This makes us sad, and even makes God sad. But all can be made right in the end, because of the atonement. Which reminds me of another scripture, Psalm 30:5 - "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."
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