I WAS so sorry to hear of the tragic accident at the Big Church Festival in West Sussex a few weeks ago. Like countless others I have prayed for all who have been affected by it, especially those who were injured as well as the family of the pastor who was killed by a falling sign.

Social media, as you might expect, has been flooded with a wide range of reactions. There have been lots of encouraging reflections of course, most notably those from people who were staying at the festival at the time.

Sadly, there seem to have been some pretty negative comments too. In fact, one Christian known to me has said he has been disgusted by some with people making jokes at the expense of the victims or taking the chance to mock Christians for their beliefs.

I have to admit I haven’t seen many of them, but I was disappointed to read one that referred to the time Jesus drove the money changers out of the Temple. Having listed some of the prices being charged at the festival for such things as burgers it closed with these words: “God has put an end to it.” I found that remark pretty insensitive!

I was a little concerned when I read another that declared “This was not God's will. Satan is prowling everywhere.” This comment didn’t reveal a lack of compassion but as I read it, I found myself thinking that we need to take care lest we ever give the impression that the devil is stronger than God. There are dark spiritual forces at work in our world of course, but they are subject to Him.

But if this is the case it means that we have to come to terms with the fact that God sometimes allows things to happen that can leave us ‘reeling’ (to quote one Christian at the Festival) and when that happens all we can do is trust Him. That can be hard because it can mean living with unanswered questions, at least for now. As another commentator observed: “Sometimes faith isn’t a triumphant song — sometimes it’s simply holding onto God when you can barely hold onto anything else.”

Events such as these certainly remind us of the fragility of life. I found myself thinking this when listening to the reports on an early morning radio programme, and remembered a passage in Luke’s gospel where we read of 18 people who were killed by a falling tower. Jesus told his listeners that this hadn’t happened because they had behaved particularly badly (He obviously knew that we often think like that). He took the opportunity to tell them that they needed to sort out their relationship with God because none of us know when we are going to meet Him, and for some that will be a day of regret rather than rejoicing.