A Sign For God

A few weeks ago I received an email from one of our members that made my heart drop.  It contained a picture of an A-frame that International Graduate Student Ministry (IGSM) uses to publicize events on the UC Davis campus.  As you can see clearly in this picture, it had been vandalized with spray paint with the words, “god is dead.”

This is not what you would expect from a pluralistic society that is supposed to be tolerant and accepting of all religions and faith traditions.  It seemed so unfairly targeted since there were no other A-frames nearby vandalized; there was no “atheism is dead” or “pre-meds are dead” or the like.

I wondered how long it would take for the UC Davis campus to get outraged at this clear violation of the Principles of Community that we are all to abide by.  After all, there have been other graffiti vandalisms on campus in years past, and many of those caused loud uproars.  I guess the big difference was that this time, it was against the Christian tradition and it wasn’t a big deal to many out there.  There was no newspaper coverage, no vigil, no speeches, no nothing…just the still small voice of silence as people passed by.  Maybe god is dead, but alas, no one cares to give even a proper eulogy…

As I wondered what the folks at IGSM should do in response, I realized that the best way to prove that God is NOT dead is to simply forgive. After all, God is alive and God is forgiving.  God proved His existence by forgiving sinners like me.  And the amazing truth of the gospel is that the vandal who did this can also be forgiven and that is what I am sincerely praying for.  After all, when Christians forgive, it is a clear sign for God.