Thursday, August 21, 2008
Why Does it Have to Hurt?
Why does it have to hurt? Why is there pain and suffering in the world? Unfortunately the answer to this question is not completely clear, and no one has ever found a "correct" answer, only God knows. But here's a guess. We can conclude from God's character that He did not create suffering in the world, but suffering invaded it. In the beginning God created a perfect world, but after the fall the world became a “good world gone bad.” But why then, doesn't God just "zap" it out of here? Well to take a line from Batman "why do we fall down Bruce? So we can pick ourselves up again". God is like a father to us, and in that way He lets pain in our lives, maybe so that we may be stronger, maybe so that His plan can be carried out. I learned on my mission trip that Hurricane Katrina was not created, but allowed by God; if there wasn't a hurricane I wouldn't be on the same mission trip, with the same people, and wouldn’t have walked away with the valuable lessons I learned. Also there would be no Lagniappe church, and there would be fewer people who turned to God in response to the storm. Even though terrible things happen, it doesn't mean that God doesn't love us or want to help us. Romans 8:28 tells us that "we know in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." God works for our own good, we do not suffer because of random events, there is always a reason. Am I saying that the person lying on a hospital bed with cancer is being taught a lesson, or being punished? I don't know, and sadly no one knows. But I do know that God lets things happen for a reason.
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3 comments:
I see wisdom beyond 15 years in your words, big guy. Glad to see outside influences aren't what shape your thoughts about God or yourself.
Blessings,
Ben
TylerYou are a go getter for Jesus. Your understanding and love of God's word is his gift to you. What you do to share it with others is your gift back to God.LoveDad
Hey Tyler,
I was telling your dad that, even though it doesn't completely relate, this post made me think about the movie Evan Almighty. I don't know if you've seen it, but in the movie God appears to the woman character later on in the movie and tells her something that I've kind of taken to heart. He told her that when you pray for something, he won't just give it to you. Just like your Batman quote, you have to pick yourself up; he is challenging us to improve on ourselves and become better human beings in the end. And God let's everything happen for a reason.
In the movie, the woman prays for her family to be closer together. When God appears later on in the movie, and tells her that he doesn't just make things happen like that, he also tells her that instead of just instantly making their family closer he will instead present opportunities for the family to bond. I'm pretty modestly religious, but as you said, I believe everything happens for a reason and we are tested and challenged throughout or lives so that we will rise to the challenge, overcome it, hopefully learn some lessons, and become even better human beings.
With all that being said, I've been enjoying your blog posts so far. And I like the humor you occasionally throw in. It all makes it more enjoyable to read.
Hope all is going well in Boston,
take care,
your cousin Nick
PS. Your dad said we need to get the street preacher to get a blogspot account so you and him can have online debates. Definitely would be a good time! Maybe next year if you guys make it back out to Oregon we can meet up again downtown and while all the females are shopping you, Uncle Mark and I can hunt down the street preacher and you can set him straight!
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