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Sunday School Lesson on Disobedience Topic Discussion

1.What is your most vivid personal memoryof a national tragedy? How did this tragedy affect you spiritually, if at all?

Most people will have some memory of Sep-tember 11, 2001. Within the United States, othermemories may include the shootings of Presi-dents Reagan and Kennedy, the two space shuttledisasters, the attack on Pearl Harbor, or the assas-sination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Many willthink also of natural disasters, such as the tsu-nami of 2004.

Traumatic events have a way of searing imagesinto our memories. The result is vivid memoriesnot only of the event itself, but also our recollec-tions of where we were and what we were doingwhen we learned of the event. Such events eitherresult in people being closer to God or more dis-tant from Him. It's probably quite rare that a per-son's relationship with God is totally unaffected insuch instances. The church should be poised tohelp people see God more clearly in trying times.

2.What sins do you think could bring God'sjudgment upon our country today? How wouldwe be able to tell the difference between thejudgment of God and what may be called "nat-ural consequences"?

The first question will reveal different opinionsamong believers. Some believers will think thatGod is most concerned about sins related to sexu-ality. Others will focus on human life issues suchas abortion and euthanasia (on the political right)and capital punishment (on the political left).Some Christians will stress issues of social jus-tice, racial inequalities, environmental abuse, etc.These different opinions may provide part ofthe answer to the second question: sincere be-lievers are unlikely to reach consensus on whatsins would be "bad enough" to call forth God'sjudgment. We are certain, however, that God'spatience is for our benefit (2 Peter 3:9, 15). Seethe next question.

3. In what ways have you benefited fromGod's patience?

This question can call forth some very emo-tional stories. Certainly the fact that our worldstill exists despite our sinfulness is a sign that

God is patient! Beyond that, 2 Peter 3:9 remindsus that God is patient because He wants every-one to come to salvation.

4.In reaction to a national tragedy, someonesays, "I guess this is God's punishment" Howdo you respond?

The book of Job shows us that there are otherreasons for tragedy. In that case Satan was thecause of the devastation that affected Job and hisfamily. Other tragedies may be the consequencesof otherwise positive events: the storm that endsyour drought may cause my flood. In an inter-connected world, many blessings have accompa-nying challenges. This may be more the generalresult of living after the fall than of direct pun-ishment from God.

Since God does use natural and human meansto effect His punishments, we often cannot tellwhich is specifically divine and which is merelynatural. The best response is to turn to God in re-pentance and seek restoration in any circum-stance. (Jesus addressed this very issue in Luke13:1-5.) We can use tragedy as a reminder to seekHis face and turn from our wicked ways.

5.When is it appropriate to hold on to andnurture a bitter memory, and when is it betterto try to let go and move on with our lives? Howcould our decision be different if the memory isof a shared community event rather than of amore individual, personal tragedy?

Some memories must stay alive, even if theyare very painful. The fact that God chose to re-tain in Scripture the horror of the fall of Jeru-salem is proof of this. Were the exiles to forgetJerusalem, they would have no hope of returningand restoring the city. To some degree commu-nity events are better kept in our collective mem-ories because they allow as to grieve and healtogether. Such memories allow us to come upwith a shared strategy for recovery.

Individual hurts, for their part, have more of atendency to foster bitterness when they are kept"bottled up inside." When that happens, the bit-terness of individual tragedy breeds isolation. Al-lowing others to help us work through our griefis a key.

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