West Nickel Mines Amish School
Bethany Hamilton
First, we explored the two kinds of evil in this world.
- Moral Evil - things that people do that we call sinful
- Natural Evil - tsunamis, earthquakes...things human beings have no control over
Pastor Billy taught us about 3 beliefs common in our society that try to explain why God allows suffering from acts of evil.
- Punishment - Evil happens to punish or judge man's sin. The problem is found when we look at Job in the Bible. He did nothing to deserve the evil God allowed in his life. God allowed it to test Job's faithfulness to Him alone.
- Free Will - Evil is in this world because we have free will...the ability to choose for ourselves what we want to do. We are sinners and so sometimes we choose evil. The problem is that this doesn't explain natural evil, only moral evil.
- God Has A Purpose - This, we told the kids, was the best explanation of why God allows suffering of evil in this world. We read Romans 8:28 and discussed what the word "all" implied. It doesn't just mean that some things happen for God's purpose and our good...only the good things that happen to us. ALL things...even the bad, sad, devastating, ugly, heartbreaking, and evil are for our good and God's purpose.
But why does God allow us to suffer? There are 3 reasons:
- God wants us to learn to trust Him more.
- God wants us to become more mature.
- Our suffering builds our character and makes us more like Christ.
In the end, God is both loving AND sovereign. Everything He does is for a good purpose and brings Him glory in the end. And He is in control of everything that happens to us and in this world...that's sovereignty!
We wanted to give the kids two very real examples of evil...one moral and one natural, and how God used them for His glory and the good of those involved.
Moral Evil: The West Nickel Mines Amish School in Lancaster Pennsylvania
Charlie Roberts was the milkman for the Amish community in Lancaster. On October 2, 2006, he backed his pickup truck to the doors of the one-room schoolhouse. He ordered the boys inside to help him carry his supplies in and then proceeded to block the doors to the school so no one could come in. He let a pregnant woman, three parents with babies, and all of the boys leave the schoolroom. The teacher, her mother, and another little girl also escaped and ran for help to a nearby farm.
Charlie then lined the girls up along the chalkboard and began shooting them one by one in the backs of their heads. Two sisters begged Charlie to shoot them first in hopes that he would spare their friends' lives. Charlie did and one of those sisters died. In the end, five little girls died and five little girls were injured.
The last person to be shot that day was Charlie himself when he took his own life. Years earlier, Charlie lost a baby girl born to him and his wife only 20 minutes after she was born. He said he was going to take away from others what God took away from him. He had a wife and three other children he left behind.
On the day of the shooting, a grandfather of one of the murdered Amish girls was heard warning some young relatives not to hate the killer, saying, "We must not think evil of this man." Another Amish father said, "He had a mother and a wife and a soul and now he's standing before a just God."
Jack Meyer, a member of the community living near the Amish in Lancaster County, explained: "I don't think there's anybody here that wants to do anything but forgive and not only reach out to those who have suffered a loss in that way but to reach out to the family of the man who committed these acts."
Just hours after the shootings, several Amish community members, including a father of one of the girls killed, visited Charlie's wife, told her they forgave Charlie, and offered her any help she may need, especially with her three children who now had no father. The Amish community even attended the funeral of Charlie Roberts to show their forgiveness and love towards their neighbor.
We asked the kids if this would have been their response if a man they thought they knew and trusted gunned down people in their family. Then we asked them what the Amish people from that story taught the rest of the world watching by their example. God was truly glorified in the end by their actions and so, His purpose was accomplished. And God did indeed teach the Amish and others watching them to trust Him more, mature in their faith, and become more like Christ in their suffering and the way they dealt with it.
We showed the kids the movie trailer to Amish Grace, the movie based on the actual events of the shooting and aftermath (http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4695111/amish_grace_movie_trailer/).
Natural Evil: Bethany Hamilton
Bethany was a surfer who, on October 31, 2003, was attacked by a 14-foot shark, which bit off her left arm and caused her to lose more than 60% of the blood in her body. After several surgeries, Bethany began her recovery with an unbelievably positive attitude. Miraculously, just one month after the attack, Bethany returned to the water.
Two months later, Bethany placed fifth in the Open Women's division surf competition and just over a year after the attack she won her first National Title. In 2007, Bethany realized her dream and turned pro. Bethany says of her ordeal, "It has been an incredible journey for me and now, I'm just so excited to share it!" Being able to turn to Jesus after the shark attack kept me alive. When people ask me what my faith in God means to me, I usually answer in just one word: "everything!"
We asked the kids if man's sin had anything to do with the shark attacking Bethany. It was a natural evil that only God could have caused to happen to her. And look at the outcome! She has inspired millions with her story and had the ability to share her faith with all of them through her attitude, determination, and testimony. She even shares with people on her website the steps to becoming a believer in Jesus Christ and why it is so important.
In the end, God used Bethany for a purpose He only could have used her for through this tragic natural evil. AND GOD WAS GLORIFIED THROUGH IT ALL!!! And Bethany learned to trust in Christ more, matured in her faith, and certainly became more like Christ through her ordeal. Bethany truly captures the meaning of Zero Gravity's Scripture motto, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13.
We also showed the kids the movie trailer to this new release called Soul Surfer (http://www.soulsurferthemovie.com/). We also encouraged the kids to check out bethanyhamilton.com for Bethany's blog and testimony of her faith.
Last, but certainly not least, we discussed with the kids the greatest moral evil ever done to anyone in all of history...Christ's crucifixion. We talked about why it had to happen...to save us from an eternity in hell from our sins since Jesus took our sins upon Himself on the cross. We talked about how, because Jesus did this for us and it was God's purpose for His life here on earth, God ultimately receives all of the glory as our Savior.
AWESOME LESSON!!
