Why do people die? Why do bad things happen? Why?
A little less than a month ago I thought of posting this blog when a young man shot and killed over 20 children, but I fought it off and said no because it was such a touchy subject. I had written it off as a never-mind and then my grandfather got some news. We recently found out that he has a very large mass on his L2 vertebra. We haven't found out yet whether it is benign or malignant, but should know something by next Monday. As my family waits on this news I contemplate these tough questions once again.
I've recently watched a friend from church, who I highly respect, go through a tough situation with her mother. (More info here) She lost her mother to cancer while we were in Africa. The picture you see is of her son reflecting on his grandmother. As I sit and think about the tough questions in life I remember a conversation told to me about this same little boy, John Thomas Fry.
"Mommy", he said, "why do people disobey God?" "I don't know", she responded, "it's like when you disobey me". "Yeah, but I would never disobey God!", he said. His mother told him how disobeying her was in fact disobeying God according to the Bible. With wide, terrified eyes, John Thomas asked, "does that mean I can't go to heaven?". She explained to him about salvation and what it means to be saved. She explained how Jesus died for our sins. Some days later John Thomas was being a little boy and somehow disobeyed his mother. When Candace called this to his attention the terror came over his face again. "Did Jesus leave me? Do I have to be saved again?"
Praise the one and only God of our salvation, No! We do not! Through God, my grandmother brought Jesus into my grandfather's life many years ago. He has trained his children in the way of the Lord and my life is a testament to the way he has lived. My grandfather gets good news either way next week because as Christians we know that this life is not the end. He either lives which is Christ or he dies, eventually, which is gain. I can rejoice with Him either way. It might be a sad moment and that's okay, but in the grand scheme of things it will be a time of rejoicing.
Why do bad things happen? They happen because in the beginning mankind messed up. From that moment our Father was moving toward our redemption. Why doesn't God stop bad things from happening? A better question is why don't people recognize it when He does?!? Who are we to say that he doesn't? He stopped a lot of things from happening in His holy Word. He healed. He brought the dead to life. He refused the entire extinction of mankind itself. How about He gave us a way to be brought back from eternal death? That doesn't sound like a God who just "lets bad things happen". It sounds like a loving father that cares about us and our problems and our hurting.
To finish I want to just post some truths about our Heavenly Father:
1. Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:1-5 NIV)
2. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! (Philippians 1:20-22 NIV)
3. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord , who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord ; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. (Psalms 18:2-6 NIV84)
4. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:10, 11 NIV84)
...and the list goes on and on. Thank you, Lord, for your goodness, for your sovereignty, for your hope and for your Son.
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| Larry and Palma Simmons on their 50th wedding anniversary |
