The biblical Christian knows that when any big theological questions arise as to significant – and not so insignificant – events and occurrences in this world, there are at least three major players that must be taken into account. The three of course are God (and his sovereignty), man (with his moral accountability for his actions), and Satan (with his malicious interference).
So if a person loses his job, for example, we can speak of God’s movements in this, human choices, and satanic influences. How all three can be part of the overall equation is of course a bit of a mystery. And we would have to say that while all three elements must be kept in mind, at the end of the day God and his purposes will be the overriding consideration.
Just one clear example (of many) found in Scripture would be the fate of Joseph as found in the lengthy story about him in Genesis 37-50. His brothers treated him terribly, inspired as they were by satanic influences, and yet divine purposes were fully taking place. As Joseph told his brothers in Gen. 50:20: “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
And the prime example of ugly satanic attacks, bad human choices, and overriding divine sovereignty, can be seen in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. How all three managed to cohere in this one mega-event is beyond our full comprehension, but we know that all three were involved. And in the end, the purposes of God stood.
The Trump assassination attempt
Let me examine one very recent and very well-known example of all this. Here we again find three main players: Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who sought to murder Trump, Satan who certainly influenced him in this, and God, who as always is working out his divine purposes in all of life.
Sure, we could discuss other people involved, such as the Secret Service agents and others who were meant to protect Trump, but so miserably failed in their duties in so many ways. But you get my point: for believers to understand this event means to consider all three.
Having said all that by way of background, I want to look in particular at one aspect of this that has many people – both Christian and non-Christian – asking many questions. And that is this: Why was the life of Trump spared, but the life of Corey Comperatore not?
Again, we can look at the three parts of the equation: Crooks wanted to kill Trump, carried along as he was by satanic inspiration. Trump happened to turn his head at just the right time, while 50-year-old Comperatore, the former fire chief, chose to dive on his family to save them, and he lost his life doing so.
But the question is, why did God allow one to be killed and the other spared? As mentioned, there is always mystery in such matters. And we can ask these sorts of questions about millions of things: Why did that guy get the job I was after? Why did that girl I liked so much marry another? Why did he get healed of cancer while I did not? On and on it goes.
As I say, so many are asking about all this. Let me offer just one high profile example. Yesterday at the Republican National Convention evangelist Franklin Graham not only briefly shared the gospel message in his short talk, but he led the crowd in prayer as well.
And he mentioned, as did so many others, that it was a God thing that Trump survived the assassin’s bullet. But he went on to say this: “I cannot explain why God would save one life and allow another one to be taken. I don’t have the answer for that.”
That is a good and proper response. There is plenty of mystery here. We just do not always know why God does what he does. When I posted his statement on the social media, one gal responded with these words: “God protection and divine intervention around one but not the other. It’s a tough one.”
Yes it is. But what I said above is part of how we can try to make some sense of it all. And in addition to that, we have other bits of biblical information to draw upon. One is this: The Bible makes it clear that our times are in God’s hands. Scripture not only proclaims throughout that life is short, but it also clearly states that our days are numbered. Consider some of the biblical passages on this truth:
Genesis 47:29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him…
Job 14:1-6 Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not. And do you open your eyes on such a one and bring me into judgment with you? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one. Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass.
Job 31:4 Does not he see my ways
and number all my steps?
Psalm 39:4-6 O Lord, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
Psalm 139:16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot.
Ecclesiastes 8:8 As no one has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death.
Matthew 6:27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
John 7:6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.
Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…
These passages seem pretty clear: our days are numbered, and when God wants to take us home, he will. So if we believe these passages to be true, then we need to accept that it may have been time for Comperatore (who was a strong and devout Christian) to go to be with his Lord, while it was not yet Trump’s time.
This of course does not answer every question, and likely will raise even more questions. But all we can do is try to carefully assess the biblical data as we try to make sense of events like this. And two statements made by Trump last night contain much truth:
“I’ll tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God.”
“If the events of last Saturday make anything clear, it is that every single moment we have on earth is a gift from God.”
All believers can agree with those two comments. Again, why Comperatore is now gone, leaving behind a devastated wife and two daughters, is something none of us can fully understand or explain. Why a child dies so very young, or a teenager is killed while in high school, or a committed Christian pastor dies in the prime of his life – we do not know why. We do not have all the answers.
But we do have a few. Something the English pastor Charles Spurgeon said – and he was someone who knew so much about suffering and hardship – must suffice here:
“God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart. When you are so weak that you cannot do much more than cry, you coin diamonds with both your eyes. The sweetest prayers God ever hears are the groans and sighs of those who have no hope in anything but his love.”
As someone who has lost his wife of over forty years to an 18-month battle with cancer, the words of Spurgeon give me great comfort indeed. I do not have all the answers, but I do know a God who does, and who knows all about suffering and death.
That is enough.
Postscript
While we can try to say some useful things about all this, there have been some folks who have said some VERY un-useful things. Many leftists and mainstream media commentators have said absolutely appalling things. Let me offer just one diabolical example. The hyper-leftist Joy Behar of the hyper-leftist The View actually went on this bizarre and despicable rant:
“I was raised Catholic. I’m a Christian girl. When something like this happens to you like this assassination attempt and you say something like ‘God was watching me,’ that is a very unchristian thing to say because it’s very narcissistic.”
Good grief. What an ugly hater she is. Megyn Kelly was rightly incensed by her comment. Said Kelly:
She doesn’t get it at all. It’s not, ‘God cared about Trump but not Corey Comperatore. I think most Christians believe God had other plans for Corey. God called Corey home and had a different mission for him. And those of us who are left behind to grieve the one we love, struggle with that and feel sadness over that and wish you were different. Sometimes it does cause you to question your faith and your beliefs. But most of us get to the place where we reconcile it and we as mere mortals don’t understand the plans.
We don’t think it’s narcissistic to say ‘thank you God for saving me — I believe I, too, am part of your plan,’ It’s so warped the way she thinks about this issue. They’re so blinded by their hatred for Trump, and their need for Biden to beat him, that every piece of information is processed through that lens, and therefore truth is totally erased in their zeal to get others to see how bad Trump is — He’s ‘godless,’ right? And Biden is the Second Coming, on the other hand. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/megyn-kelly-rips-those-b-230017886.html
I hate conspiracy theories whenever they are more complicated than the simple explanation. But, when a 20 year old food worker with no social media and encrypted accounts (“Oh dear, we can’t find out anything about him”), flies a drone over the venue, brings a ladder, escapes the Secret Service for an hour, climbs up on the closest roof to Trump, has the public filming him and calling out for minutes, and then fires multiple shots before the best shooters in the country finally wake up… and they tell us he acted alone. That is extremely difficult to explain away. The simplest explanation is that the SS/FBI used Crooks as a decoy so they could delete Trump themselves, and set up Cheatle “in charge” so she can ramble on about sloping roofs. I hate being a conspiracy theorist because I hate flat earths, chem trails and weather manipulation flooding Lismore. All technically impossible with barely any motive. But when it comes to secret government departments, very possible. Just like the proven conspiracy of the religious leaders paying off the guards with the narrative that “the disciples stole Jesus body”. We just need Trump to stay alive… “Donald duck!”. Sorry had to lighten it somehow.
There certainly are FAR too many unanswered questions Tim about what happened last week.
Satan was out to kill Trump, however, God needed him for His purpose of leading America out of the devastation of the last 3 years. Corey paid the ultimate sacrifice in place of Trump. Yes, it’s hard to understand how these things work, but the blood of 3 “disciples” was shed on that day, including one fatally.
Thanks Michael.
I don’t think God is anywhere near as concerned about our first death as our second but scripture does point to God feeling our pain. I’m guessing that is simply part of being omniscient.
I am very pleased, however, that there has been a fund set up for Corey’s widow and children.
I suspect the US secret service failure was more likely mostly based on simple disdain for DJT and therefore not bothering to do their job properly. Perhaps the SS leader, being a woman, was simply concerned about the health risks of walking on a slightly inclined metal roof in high heels.
I hate conspiracy theories whenever they are more complicated than the simple explanation. But, when a 20 year old food worker with no social media and encrypted accounts (“Oh dear, we can’t find out anything about him”), flies a drone over the venue, brings a ladder, escapes the Secret Service for an hour, climbs up on the closest roof to Trump, has the public filming him and calling out for minutes, and then fires multiple shots before the best shooters in the country finally wake up… and they tell us he acted alone. That is extremely difficult to explain away. The simplest explanation is that the SS/FBI used Crooks as a decoy so they could delete Trump themselves, and set up Cheatle “in charge” so she can ramble on about sloping roofs. I hate being a conspiracy theorist because I hate flat earths, chem trails and weather manipulation flooding Lismore. All technically impossible with barely any motive. But when it comes to secret government departments, very possible. Just like the proven conspiracy of the religious leaders paying off the guards with the narrative that “the disciples stole Jesus body”. We just need Trump to stay alive… “Donald duck!”. Sorry had to lighten it somehow.
There certainly are FAR too many unanswered questions Tim about what happened last week.
Satan was out to kill Trump, however, God needed him for His purpose of leading America out of the devastation of the last 3 years. Corey paid the ultimate sacrifice in place of Trump. Yes, it’s hard to understand how these things work, but the blood of 3 “disciples” was shed on that day, including one fatally.
Thanks Michael.
I don’t think God is anywhere near as concerned about our first death as our second but scripture does point to God feeling our pain. I’m guessing that is simply part of being omniscient.
I am very pleased, however, that there has been a fund set up for Corey’s widow and children.
I suspect the US secret service failure was more likely mostly based on simple disdain for DJT and therefore not bothering to do their job properly. Perhaps the SS leader, being a woman, was simply concerned about the health risks of walking on a slightly inclined metal roof in high heels.