Questions Arise
When it comes to suffering at a serious level questions arise about God. We wonder why he does this or that or why he allows this or that. The questions wouldn't arise if we knew beforehand that he was cruel and got his kicks out of seeing people suffer. We protest and question because our pain pries our lips open.
Even if we knew he was cruel we'd still gasp out our questions. In the movie Color Purple the cruel man of the house wanted to have his wicked way with his wife's young sister. The girl thoroughly rejected his outrageous advances and for this he drove her out of the house. It wasn't the house she was going to miss and it certainly wasn't his attentions she would miss. But her sister was dearer to her than life and it was this that crushed her and led her to shout at him as he drove her off, "Why? Why?" It wasn't information she was looking. She knew very well why he was doing all this. He was bitter because she rejected him, vindictive because he was cruel and cunning because he knew this separation from her sister would be the worst pain of all.
But Jesus Christ has persuaded us that God loves us with a tireless love and it's that in part that creates our perplexity. If he were cruel we'd know why he hurts us or allows it. But if he loves us then why this or why that?
So you mustn't think that your sense of disappointment is nothing more or less than a bad attitude. He is your Holy Father and your pain and loss makes it difficult for you to see why he wouldn't make things easier for you. You feel like you ought to walk away from him and yet you can't help believing that there's some good answer to it all if only you could find it.
What you feel in your bones is correct. Hang on and he will prove you right.
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.
Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.