Give Me More Than Flowers

One of our biggest jobs as parents is to help our children feel secure. I've always wondered how atheist or agnostic parents do this. I'm wondering it all the more as I watch the news every night.

I was a kid during the Cold War, but I was not part of the generation that was taught to "duck and cover" in case of a nuclear event. By the time I made it to school, that had wisely been rendered pointless. But I did understand that we had an enemy somewhere far away that could somehow obliterate me and everyone I knew. Still, it seemed unlikely and remote.

Today's threats are much less remote. Terrorists are blowing themselves up right and left, taking out civilians in the process. Bombs are commonplace, on airplanes, in sports stadiums, on public streets. American children have the added burden of psychopaths who are not necessarily politically or religiously motivated, but are simply antisocial and mad. Innocent people aren't just dying in war zones; they're dying at the Carmike 6 down the street. Or even worse, in their schools. I've read that this generation of children won't grow up thinking this is shocking or horrific. They'll think it's the norm.

That doesn't mean they won't be scared. Now more than ever, our kids long for security. Now more than ever, they need to know there is a God who created them, who loves them, and who is sovereign over everything that happens in their lives and on this planet. They need to know that there is a battle between good and evil, between truth and a lie, and that God--who is goodness and is truth--wins.

And yet we've resorted to this. A young Parisian boy, with his dad by his side, was interviewed by a journalist. As young as he was, three or four, maybe, the little boy understood that there were bad guys with guns wreaking havoc in his city. "They can shoot us, daddy, because they're really, really mean," he told his father. With the world watching, the dad looked around at the memorials to the victims and said to his son, "They might have guns, but we have flowers."

Flowers? The boy clearly found little solace in this. A clever little guy, he pointed out the obvious: "But flowers don't do anything."

The reason this became a national story, of course, is because the dad was able to convince his son that flowers can overcome guns. His point, that love is more powerful than hate, is true, but only because that love is attached to something much bigger and much more powerful than "flowers." Even a three-year-old knows that flowers can't keep him safe, and though he may have bought his dad's logic for the moment, it's a security that surely won't last long. Intellectual integrity will do its work as he gets older, and he'll realize that as beautiful as flowers are, and as well intentioned are those who place them in honor of the dead, they're powerless. In times of chaos, we want control. We want power. And we're never going to find that apart from the almighty, all-sovereign, all good Lord of heaven and earth. Security placed anywhere else will always disappoint.

I don't want to judge this parent; I just feel very sad for him and others like him. How do they even explain evil in a relativistic society? If one person's evil is another person's good, if one person's religious beliefs are just as valid as another's (even if those beliefs include setting up a worldwide caliphate at any cost), then how can any parent give any kind of a satisfying answer to their confused children? Without the biblical explanation of evil, what do you say? Without the promise of Revelation, how can you offer any kind of substantial hope that good truly does prevail? Unless Someone is in control, aren't we just spinning out of control, drugging, drinking, bombing, warring, fighting ourselves to death?

This is what I want my children, your children, and children everywhere to know: Someone is in control. He is our creator and sustainer. He is our strength and our shield. He is our fortress and our strong tower. He is our protector and provider. He is Lord over heaven and earth. And children, He knows your name! He sees you every second of every day, and if you belong to Him, no one can ever snatch you from His hand. If you believe and follow Him, He will always work for your good. If you suffer, He'll only draw nearer. He has a very long and well documented track record of caring for the weak and the hurting. Even death cannot separate you from His great love, and you have nothing to fear. His perfect love drives out fear.

Flowers are nice. They're a gift from God. But they've never calmed the seas or raised the dead back to life. In times of crisis, they're about as helpful as "duck and cover." What children want to know--what I want to know--is that our security is found in One much bigger than our guns and our government and our abstract concepts of love and peace. Our security is in Christ alone. And if He is for us, who can be against us?