Boston Thoughts

My usual thoughts on the third Monday of April, after the news reports how fast the winners of the Boston Marathon completed the 26 mile course is how fast they can run, and how slow I jog. This year, that thought never crossed my mind. Rather, I was simply shocked when I heard the news. Later on Monday evening I had the chance to watch a portion of the news coverage and see a video of the explosion. I went to bed pondering how is it that people can do those kinds of things to other people. Then this morning, I heard on the radio warnings about how some people were malevolently pretending to raise money for people impacted by the explosion. How can people manipulate the good will of other in response to tragedy?

Judges 21:25 came to mind as I was walking from the car into my office this morning. It reads:

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Two things stood out in the verse as I thought about it. The first part of the verse speaks of a disregard for God’s leadership. Israel may not have had a human king during the period of the Judges, but they did have God, the One they were in a covenant with. Yet they operated without regard for God. And as the second part of the verse points toward, they also operated without regard for God’s commands.

In their contempt for God, brought themselves heart and grief God never intended for them. In fact, in Deuteronomy 12:28, God had promised them a much better life, if they would do what was good and right in the sight of God. God’s commands were not intended to hinder life; they were intended to enhance life.

How should I respond two days after Boston? I believe the words of the Great Commandment offer us great wisdom. Matthew 22:37-40 read:

And he said to them, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

To respond to things like want happened in Boston on Monday or in Newtown on December 14 or in Aurora this past summer, we need to be people who love God and love people. We need to follow God’s leadership by honoring His commands.