Tough Stuff

--> Since I don't have a lot of time during the week to write about the things that I really want to, I'm going to start going through things I have written in the past and fix them up for posting. I stay pretty busy writing articles for my news writing class and for my print practicum. I should actually be writing a paper for my cultural anthropology class right now, but I wanted to post this first. Then I'm going to buckle down and write about Witches, Westerners and HIV, a book we were required to read for the class. More on that topic in a later entry. Anyway, here's something I wrote this summer. I wrote it one night when I couldn't sleep because my mind was going a million miles an hour. I guess as God was showing me how I needed to love others, one part of my thought process wandered toward reasons a person might not understand or want God's love. Here's my disclaimer: I do not claim to know it all. I wrote this simply in an attempt to organize the flow of rambling thoughts that were coursing through my brain at the time. Well, here it is:



Why do bad things happen to good people? It's a question that has puzzled the human race for ages. While I am no genius or acclaimed Bible scholar, I would like to take a shot at making sense of this age old question. First of all, I am not claiming to know the black and white answer to this question. I don't think we'll ever know the exact answer to any question like this until we meet the One who knows all. That being said, I want to start with an anecdote. I promise it has a point-just bear with me. My ninth grade physical science teacher, Coach Cathy, began the year by telling our class, "Up until this point, you all have been lied to by your science teachers." Of course, a question like that is going to stir the curiosity of twenty-something junior high kids. According to Coach Cathy, we had been taught that both hot and cold existed, but our earlier teachers had lied to us. There is no such thing as cold. After twenty some-odd eye rolls and exchanged glances, he continued to explain that heat does, in fact, exist. However, cold is simply a state-the absence of heat. As I said earlier, I do actually have a point. My point just happens to begin with another question: What is bad? Well, I'll let Mr. Webster tell you. Webster's dictionary defines bad as, "That which is bad; the state of being bad, want of good qualities." So what exactly is bad? It's the absence of good. Which brings me to the rest of this point: if bad things didn't happen, we wouldn't be able to recognize good. Good has an actual description, not just the state of being good, or the absence of bad. Webster's defines good as, "That which is good; that which is righteous or virtuous; to be a power for good in the world, excellence, or merit; kindness or god deeds..." The list of traits goes on. So, without things that are "bad", we would not be able to see or appreciate those things which are good, righteous, virtuous, excellent, kind, etc. Although this helps with understanding what "bad" is, it doesn't actually satisfy questions as to why "bad" even exists.

A lot of people wonder how a loving God could allow awful, hurtful, tragic things to happen. Coming from a person who has experienced the tragedy that this world has to offer, I won't even pretend to completely understand the will of God or the way that He works. Steven Curtis Chapman says it well in his song, "God is God" when he says:

"God is God and I am not,
I can only see a part of the picture He's painting.
God is God and I am man, so I'll never understand it all, For only God is God."

There's no way my mind could ever conceive all that God knows and understands. However, I also believe that God desires to reveal small pieces of Himself and His truth to us. Here's what He's shown me so far:

-God does not send bad things our way as punishment for wrong things we've done, or even to test our faith. Bad things happen because we are a fallen people and we live in a fallen world. Sin indwells the world we live in, and it's not a new concept. Sin entered the picture way back in Genesis. Remember the story about Adam and Eve, with the serpent and the forbidden fruit? It wasn't just a story; it's history. It's the reason we are a sinful, hopeless people (on our own) and it's the reason bad things happen. This is where "bad," or the absence of good, originated.

-God is omniscient-He knows all. He also "works for the good of those who love Him" (Romans 8:28) and He has "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11) Furthermore, God is love. He doesn't just give us love, He IS love. (1 John 4:8, 1 John 4:16) So...God is love. Not only is He love, but he works for the good of those who love Him; He designs futures where we prosper, and He knows all. Since God knows all, I am perfectly okay with Him making plans for my life-especially if they are going to be prosperous and full of hope. Which leads me to my point: God doesn't send bad things to us, or even take away the good things. However, He is aware of everything that is going to happen in your life and mine. He knows the exact time you were born, how many hairs you have on your head, when you lost your first tooth, who you're going to marry, where you're going to work, when and how you will die, etc. You may be wondering why this matters in answering the question...just keep reading.

-As I mentioned earlier, He works everything out for good (Rom. 8:28). Even though we live in a fallen world, even though we're disgustingly sinful compared to Him, and even though bad things will happen throughout our lives, God works them out for good. Just recently I was reading in Exodus where Moses was following God's will in dealing with the Pharaoh and trying to win Israel's freedom. Exodus 14:3-4 says:

"For Pharaoh will think, 'Those Israelites are trapped now, between the desert and the sea! And once again I will harden Pharaoh's heart and He will chase after you. I have planned this to gain great honor and glory over Pharaoh and all his armies, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord."

God was telling Moses that, once again, Pharaoh's heart would be hardened and he was going to come after God's chosen people. Why would God allow this to happen? Why not just give them their freedom? Because He planned it to gain honor and glory over Pharaoh, and He planned it so that all of Egypt would know that He was the one, true, living God. God had it all figured out. I believe that God uses the tragedies, the hurts, the "bad" in our lives as opportunities to show us just how awesome He is. It's through our weakness, our failures, that He is able to show His strength. (1 Corinthians 12:9 & 10) It's how He receives glory from our lives. After all, that's what we were created for-to showcase His awesomeness, His splendor, His glory. (Isaiah 43:7)

So why do bad things happen to good people? Because we are a fallen, sinful, wretched, condemned people. We brought it on ourselves. How can a loving God let terrible things happen? Because He gave us the option of perfection from the beginning, but we chose sin. It's simply the penalty of our wrongdoing. The good news is that He uses all of the ugly, bad things that happen to you as an opportunity to show up in your life. He takes the hurt and the pain and molds it into something beautiful-something that you can't possibly see while you're hurting. He takes that beauty and uses it to build up an amazing, successful future packed with blessings you could never imagine. All you have to do is accept His love, and love Him back. How do you do that? It's very simple. You give him complete control of your life. You acknowledge that you are imperfect and you need Him to clean you up; that you need His mercy to wash over you, flow through you, and forgive you of all the sin in your life. Then you let go. You let Him lead you into the mind-blowing place He has for you in His will.