By now most of you have probably seen at least one or two news stories about the recent house explosion in Washington state, bringing something of an end to the two year old story of a missing woman in Utah. (Yes, the story really won't 'end' until they find her body, but a lot of the mystery of what happened to her seems to have come to light with the events of the weekend.) Living in Utah, this story has frequently cropped back into our news from time to time.
First of all, I have to say that my thoughts and prayers are with so many different people in this story. Grandparents, relatives, family, friends, but also people such as all the law enforcement officers who have worked so diligently on this story, as well as all of those who had to make legal decisions that were, undoubtedly, not so easy to make.
One thought I have had since the house explosion story came out on Sunday is just how unfair many people may be toward people such as the judge(s) who allowed home visitation, or the officers who seemed to know what happened, but didn't have enough evidence to secure an arrest warrant. It's very easy to look back and ask why they didn't see all the signs and take steps to prevent such a tragedy.
Yet, I would also like to say this. If the authorities had stepped in and prevented a father from seeing his children without enough evidence to go to trial, those same people would likely be crying out about the miscarriage of justice in not having enough proof to prevent the man from seeing his kids. Basically, I believe our expectations can sometimes put those in authority in a no-win situation.
It's refreshing to read the meaning of the fourth commandment in its brief explanation in my church's catechism. The commandment says to "honor your father and mother." The explanation goes on to say that we should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.
In a big way, that means that we understand that the authorities have a difficult job to do, and what we may think is black and white often is grey in their eyes. With the level of the burden of proof that we insist upon as a nation in order to arrest and imprison someone, their jobs are not always easy. Often they probably know things that we don't, but cannot prove them beyond a reasonable doubt. That's usually when we get upset that they didn't take action, when the reality is, we have placed such a high level of proof on them that they simply cannot take action.
I watched the reactions of several law enforcement officers to the explosion. At least two called this action "evil", to which I agree. The presence of evil, not to mention the presence of sin, can cause practically anyone to do things that we seem to be shocked by. In this case, I believe that there was a good deal of evil at work in many different ways.
This is why my Lutheran church body has always had prayers asking for God to thwart the working of the evil one. Over the past couple of days, I have been reminded of why we are encouraged to pray such prayers. I hope that you will join with me in asking God to do His good and gracious will of overcoming Satan and his companions.
First of all, I have to say that my thoughts and prayers are with so many different people in this story. Grandparents, relatives, family, friends, but also people such as all the law enforcement officers who have worked so diligently on this story, as well as all of those who had to make legal decisions that were, undoubtedly, not so easy to make.
One thought I have had since the house explosion story came out on Sunday is just how unfair many people may be toward people such as the judge(s) who allowed home visitation, or the officers who seemed to know what happened, but didn't have enough evidence to secure an arrest warrant. It's very easy to look back and ask why they didn't see all the signs and take steps to prevent such a tragedy.
Yet, I would also like to say this. If the authorities had stepped in and prevented a father from seeing his children without enough evidence to go to trial, those same people would likely be crying out about the miscarriage of justice in not having enough proof to prevent the man from seeing his kids. Basically, I believe our expectations can sometimes put those in authority in a no-win situation.
It's refreshing to read the meaning of the fourth commandment in its brief explanation in my church's catechism. The commandment says to "honor your father and mother." The explanation goes on to say that we should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.
In a big way, that means that we understand that the authorities have a difficult job to do, and what we may think is black and white often is grey in their eyes. With the level of the burden of proof that we insist upon as a nation in order to arrest and imprison someone, their jobs are not always easy. Often they probably know things that we don't, but cannot prove them beyond a reasonable doubt. That's usually when we get upset that they didn't take action, when the reality is, we have placed such a high level of proof on them that they simply cannot take action.
I watched the reactions of several law enforcement officers to the explosion. At least two called this action "evil", to which I agree. The presence of evil, not to mention the presence of sin, can cause practically anyone to do things that we seem to be shocked by. In this case, I believe that there was a good deal of evil at work in many different ways.
This is why my Lutheran church body has always had prayers asking for God to thwart the working of the evil one. Over the past couple of days, I have been reminded of why we are encouraged to pray such prayers. I hope that you will join with me in asking God to do His good and gracious will of overcoming Satan and his companions.
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