God is God

As you guys may know already, I LOVE war movies, documentaries and clips. Now, disclaimer is that just because I love war movies, doesn't mean I support war or want war. If anything, I strongly believe war should be avoided at ALL cost. I tend to romanticize about war, but I know the reality of war is not glorious at all.

I've already seen Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers thousand times (both produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks), but I'm never sick of it. Based on a compelling true story, I own and have read the book Band of Brothers and even got an autograph from one of the veterans (I'm a fanatic).

During this break, I discovered that there was another World War II TV Series called The Pacific that came out just last year (of course by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks). Disapproving my own obliviousness, I went on The Pacific marathon.
Band of Brothers is about Easy Company of paratroopers in the 101st Airborne fighting against the Germans, and The Pacific is about the 1st Marine Division fighting against the Japanese in the Pacific islands.
Although I cannot choose which one I liked better, I can say that The Pacific conveyed the horror and sufferings of the war so well. Band of Brothers was good, but it seemed to emphasize the comradeship rather than the suffering and death (The Pacific was so much more graphic, I was shocked at the barbarism and mercilessness of mankind).

The Pacific brought me to tears! Seeing so many lives being lost, I began to wonder-- out of those people that had died, how many people were actually saved? Why did that guy survive through the war, when that other guy got killed on the first day of the battle? What if your war buddy had taken the shot for you? When they had suffered so much, it was disturbing to think that they were potentially facing the eternal suffering after death. I was reminded again that there were too many unnecessary sufferings in this world. Empathizing with the lives that had been lost, I found myself saying, "but God...are they really in hell?" Why did this guy die, and that guy survive instead? Even though God is not causing these violences, I kept dwelling on the question.

Then I came across a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called "God is God." And the lyrics really spoke to me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8u1in165g4

God is God and I am not
I can only see a part
Of the picture He is painting
God is God and I am man
So I'll never understand it all
For only God is God

Even though I do not understand everything that's happening in the world, I cannot question God about human causes. I am his creation. Just like my heart breaks for the people that have died, God's heart breaks million times more, as he sees his creation killing each other. In the book of Romans, God says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people." (10:21) If anything, I should be even thanking God all the more for choosing me to be his own. He was pleased to make me his own. He was pleased to make you his own. But that doesn't mean that we should be satisfied in that assurance of salvation, but be more challenged to reach the lost. My prayer is that God would give me the boldness--to reach people, and an undying faith during the spiritual warfare we are constantly in; the kind of faith I could confidently say that I could die for.

-Angela :'-)