360 People Dead. The Single Deadliest ISIS Attack. Should it Have Been Us?

Today, there are over 360 families mourning the loss of a loved one. The statistic is staggering; the individual stories: even more so. By now, I am sure that you have heard about the atrocities that took place on Easter Sunday here in Sri Lanka. The past few days have been an attempt to grasp and comprehend the constant developments and imminent threats that have come to the surface, and to answer internal questions as to why all this took place. 

From our Perspective

After the first six bombs were detonated, and two more were found prior to their detonation at two churches within ten minutes of our Easter service, we decided that taking church signs down and being a little more alert wasn’t enough. We hesitantly followed Police recommendations, dismissed the service and cancelled the rest of our Easter services that day. 

After locking the church up and heading home, a friend in the area heard another explosion. It was 1 mile away from where I stay, and 0.75 miles from where our church meets. We were at the site, and the scenes were of police, paramedics, military, and the public in state of chaos. One can only imagine the heart-break, loss of life, and commotion across all the sites of attack. At this particular location, the bombs had detonated unintentionally as the perpetrators were checking in to a guest house prior to carrying a church attack out in the evening. 

Every day since has been full of warnings, rumours, and police advisories about coming attacks. The authorities have been successful in diffusing several potential threats. As I write this, we have been warned about a large explosion expected in the area between 10:30am and 12:00pm today. 

As far as I know, the authorities have raided several houses and arrested 40 of the 180 people they believe are involved. They’ve even searched the house I am staying at! There are several theories as to who is responsible, who knew about coming attacks, and how many attackers are still in the public – but we cannot be sure of everything yet. What we do know is that ISIS is responsible for the attacks. The released video of them pledging their allegiance prior to their massacre is chilling. It was the single deadliest ISIS-linked attack, and it does not seem like it is over. 

Why?

There has been a nation wide curfew and social media ban since the attacks, lending us much time to just think. Here are some thoughts:

This has been characterised in the media as an attack on Christians, and perhaps, pragmatically, it was. We know, however, that all the attacked churches are either Catholic churches or nominal churches that do not preach or believe the simple and true message of salvation. Those who died, for the most part, were not believers. I do not say that to downplay the barbarity, but rather, to shed further significance on it. See, these victims were not saved, and so, found themselves in a more dire situation than the one that took their life in this world. 

While we were immeasurably grateful for God’s protection of our church, I could not help but constantly wonder why it wasn’t us. Why were we not the targets? Why were we not attacked? I wondered that because we are saved believers that are sure of our eternal home. Would it not have been better for us to be the victims and not they who were lost in an appearance of religion? I understand the morbid nature of this notion, but it was a thought process that I wanted to share. 

God has a purpose for all that he allows, and as I juggled this in my mind, I could not help but understand that we were protected for a purpose. I became aware of the evidence that those of us that have the truth within us were spared that we may use this opportunity to preach and propagate it like never before. Yesterday’s attacks were a call for us to act more diligently, share more passionately, and love more genuinely. It is an invitation to watch the Lord work miracles in the life of this country – that, as a result, many more than 290 people will come to the belief and acceptance of the gospel.  

Esther 4:14 seems so applicable - “For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

So yes, there are funerals to be held, families and friends to console, and a country that needs to heal. But so importantly, there are souls that need to be saved. 21 million more souls. 

Thank you for your prayers for this country. They mean so much.