Terrible Love vs. Laser Vision

So when I was younger, my parents bought me a Superman cape to wear around the house because I wanted to be a hero at that stage of my life (I'm still in that stage of life, too). And I wore that cape a lot. I put it on and became super strong, learned to fly, and to shoot lasers out of my eyes. It became a part of my identity to "fight crime" in the Jacobson house and to "knock it to the ground" and tell it "I'm Superman!"

Unfortunately for me, the "crime" that I was fighting and knocking to the ground had a name: Lindsey. However, fortunately for me, I seemed to have dodged a bullet on this particular occasion because I never got punished for that.

But I was the hero; I was indestructible; I had the power!

There's been a lot in the news recently about people who remember what happened ten years ago and where they were when the got the news about the Twin Towers. It has reminded me of the pain that many people experience and continue to experience because of losing loved ones. It has reminded me of the prejudice, even hatred that some feel for others. This day reminds me of the pain and emotion (almost every one of them is being felt somewhere) because of terrible tragedies.

And so I have to ask myself what I think about 9/11 in light of my faith in a good, loving, and forgiving God. So where was God in all of this?

From what I know of the God that I have seen and experienced, God was in New York. He was running up flights of steps to try to find one more person to lead out of a falling building. He was in D.C. He was in Pennsylvania putting out fires in a field. And I'm even going to say that he was in the Middle East wrapping his loving, compassionate arms around the families who had just lost a loved one.

That was a terrifying day, certainly. But I think there is more to it than just that. Because on that day, an amazing thing happened too. (I'm not saying that I think that 9/11 happened so this would also happen, just that people responded in a way that looked like more like the kingdom than like this broken world.) Many people, instead of using their relationships to control and manipulate others, called a loved one that they hadn't spoken to in months or even years to tell them they loved each other. Families put aside differences in order to show their love for each other. People all over realized a love that was deeper than relationships based on power or control. A love was found that was based on humanity, rather than ability.

Henri Nouwen says that power can become an easy substitute for love. It is "easier to control people than to love people." But for a brief moment, it didn't matter that I had ever worn a Superman cape and been powerful. What mattered was my sister and the fact that I loved her. (You better read this, Lindsey!) What mattered were the people that surrounded me, and them knowing that I cared about them.

I think that is a bit of what the terrible love of the kingdom of God can look like (Terrible as in serious or extreme, not horrific). People lay aside their abilities and their resumes and instead take up their humanity. Even in the worst of situations, where death and pain seem to have won the day, there is love still. And I'm willing to bet that this love, the love that comes from God, is stronger than laser vision.