Brennan Hawkins has been found. This is a good thing - since I imagine few of us took pleasure in the thought of a child dying alone in the wilderness, and his recovery will relieve (at least until the next missing child story) that low level anxiety that I imagine all parents feel for their children all the time and which must be heightened when a child disappears.
What caught my attention in the matter was a brief section of news I saw this morning on CNN, a short interview with the boy's mother. She was, naturally, relieved and very happy to have recovered her child alive and unharmed, and her response to the news was to thank God for his deliverance. She said "People say that Heaven is closed and prayer goes unanswered, but we're here to tell you that Heaven is NOT closed and that prayer is answered."
Dear Mrs. Brennan: do you think that God has some particular preference for boy scouts - since large numbers of children go missing in America every year and are not found ever again?
Do you imagine that you have some extremely personal, intimate relationship with God that others don't, since your kid is alive when the majority of those who go missing are almost certainly not?
Is God looking out for you and yours, Mrs. Brennan, and if so why?
I didn't find your comment offensive Mrs. Brennan, just perplexing. Why you, Mrs. Brennan, and not some other equally desperate mother?
Myself, I believe that God has as much interest in you, your son, his death or life, as I have in the fate of a microbe. And I'm wary of those who use God as an explanation for the random bullshit and grief that occurs in the universe, since it's a small step from gratitude for preferential treatment to self-satisfaction in being justified (or why else would God return your son and not the myriads of other sons who vanish and don't return) and from there to the detestable tendency of believers to condemn those who don't believe as they do.
Whenever I hear of someone giving thanks for some particular benefit I'm reminded of these words from Luke 13:
"Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered 'Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who all died when the tower in Siloam fell on them - do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent you too will all perish'."
I'm glad the boy is safe. But I could wish his mother were a better read, more thoughtful Christian.
