Faithfully Yours - We may never know "why?"

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Published on Sunday, January 11, 2015

By Neil Strohschein

The year 2014 ended in a way that the citizens of Edmonton, Alta. will never forget.

In the late hours of December 28, a man with a lengthy criminal record walked into a suburban home, shot and killed seven members of his family. The next day he went to another home, but when his intended target wasn’t there, he shot and killed the innocent person who was. He then went to a restaurant in nearby Ft. Saskatchewan and took his own life.

As more details emerged about the alleged killer, police learned that he had severe financial problems (most due to a gambling addiction) and a long history of domestic violence. But were his problems, as extensive and serious as they were, enough to turn him into a mass murderer?

That’s the question investigators will be trying to answer over the next few weeks. They know how the victims died. But, according to Acting Deputy Chief Mark Neufeld, they may never know why. “We struggle to try to put some sense to something like this,” he said. “We will chase down everything we can to try to find out the reasons why, because I think it’s important. But at the end of the day you try to import rational thought into an irrational act and, a lot of times, it just never comes.” No one could have said it better.

My heart aches for the families of all those who died in this senseless tragedy—and for the many others who, in the past year, have had to endure similar experiences. Their stories didn’t make the national news. But the pain they feel is no less intense. Just like the families in Edmonton, they are trying to import rational thought into an irrational act and it never comes.

The last 35 years of my life have taught me one thing. There are times when we may never know “why” things happen as they do. And perhaps that’s the way God intended it to be. Knowing “why” might satisfy our curiosity, but it won’t bring those who died so tragically back to life again. And it certainly won’t ease the pain of those who grieve the loss. Sometimes knowing “why” may actually make the pain worse and prolong the healing process.

So while I applaud the efforts of police forces across the country to figure out “why” events like the Edmonton tragedy happened, I won’t be upset if, when they finally close the files on those cases, they are no closer to an answer than they are today. Instead, I choose to focus on those who are left behind—the families of the victims of these senseless tragedies.

They need our love, our support, our encouragement and our care. They need to know that we will accept them just as they are and that when they are in our presence, they are safe. They can say what they want to say and we will listen. They can vent their anger. They can ask all of the questions they want to ask. They can cry until they have no more tears to shed; and we will never rebuke or abandon them.

They also need to know that God loves them, cares about them and understands their pain. But if all they hear is words, it will do them no good. They need to see this love in action—and they will see it if you and I will love, accept and forgive them as God in Christ has loved, accepted and forgiven us.