If God is Good, Where is God When Bad Things Happen?
This is a theological approach, not a pastoral one. If you are in the middle of a crisis we are sorry and, more importantly, so is God.
This is a theological approach, not a pastoral one. If you are in the middle of a crisis we are sorry and, more importantly, so is God.
There is only one God. Augustine of Hippo said evil isn’t a separate entity. Evil isn’t a power because it can’t create, only tear down. It is simply turning away from God. Evil is the absence of God, in much the same way as cold is the absence of heat or dark is the absence of light.
When tools become masters and gain control over our free will, they become "gods." That is not the end; the Bible begins with our failure. The whole rest of the story is God inviting us into healing relationship with Him. God is one and He makes us whole.
God is Good. God is Love. Love cannot contain itself, so God pours Himself out, resulting in creation. All of creation is good and spiritual because we come into being through God’s Spirit. Love is relational, so we are created for relationship.
For love to be love, it must be freely given and freely received. That is risky and it is costly. Maybe this world with all its frailty and pain is the very best world that can be and be real. It is not a toy world in which nothing bad or unpleasant can happen. Love, mercy and life itself are the more beautiful and joyfully unexpected for their reality in the context of this dangerous and fleeting world.
God is all powerful. God creates life and love and from Him come all hope and joy. But nothing requires greater power than holding back when you are passionate.
God who could control us, doesn’t --that wouldn’t be love. Our thoughts, words, actions, and choices matter, because we matter to God. God does not give us everything we want. God does not judge us, though He could. For reasons that will always be beyond reason for us, God self-limits his power.
Why do we suffer?
There are predictable consequences in a rational world. Disease is real and all of us die. Sometimes good people unintentionally do horrible things. Sometimes we make bad choices. People feel overwhelmed and they seek control and sometimes that gets truly terrifying. No one knows why.
We do know:
God is not punishing you or testing you or causing you to suffer. God is not cruel.
God is with you in your suffering. He knows what you are going through because He is going through it with you. He will be with you to bring good things in the midst of bad.
When tools become masters and gain control over our free will, they become "gods." That is not the end; the Bible begins with our failure. The whole rest of the story is God inviting us into healing relationship with Him. God is one and He makes us whole.
God is Good. God is Love. Love cannot contain itself, so God pours Himself out, resulting in creation. All of creation is good and spiritual because we come into being through God’s Spirit. Love is relational, so we are created for relationship.
For love to be love, it must be freely given and freely received. That is risky and it is costly. Maybe this world with all its frailty and pain is the very best world that can be and be real. It is not a toy world in which nothing bad or unpleasant can happen. Love, mercy and life itself are the more beautiful and joyfully unexpected for their reality in the context of this dangerous and fleeting world.
God is all powerful. God creates life and love and from Him come all hope and joy. But nothing requires greater power than holding back when you are passionate.
God who could control us, doesn’t --that wouldn’t be love. Our thoughts, words, actions, and choices matter, because we matter to God. God does not give us everything we want. God does not judge us, though He could. For reasons that will always be beyond reason for us, God self-limits his power.
Why do we suffer?
There are predictable consequences in a rational world. Disease is real and all of us die. Sometimes good people unintentionally do horrible things. Sometimes we make bad choices. People feel overwhelmed and they seek control and sometimes that gets truly terrifying. No one knows why.
We do know:
God is not punishing you or testing you or causing you to suffer. God is not cruel.
God is with you in your suffering. He knows what you are going through because He is going through it with you. He will be with you to bring good things in the midst of bad.
