At church this morning, my friend Mark stopped me in the hall to ask a question. One that, as I told him, I was having a conversation with myself about in the shower earlier. I also know that I did not answer it well, and know that I probably never will.
Marlee and I will be going to Guatemala this fall. We are so very excited about this trip. We will work at Dorie's Promise orphanage, go to the city dump and visit the children that live there and also go to a very, very poor ghetto to deliver food baskets to families and share a meal with one family.
But why do we have to go? Why does God allow this suffering to happen? Why must children live in at the dump?
Mark stated what C.S. Lewis said, this is "...atheism's most potent weapon against the Christian faith."
First, what I want to say is that suffering is a result of the fall into sin that happened with Adam and Eve. Everyone has to deal with it. Everyone suffers. We live in a fallen world. It is tainted by sin. Not only are we sinful, but creation groans under the sinfulness that has touched this world. God did not cause sin...but He did allow free will for Adam and Eve and they chose themselves over their Creator.
Secondly, I don't know. I cannot answer why one house is destroyed by a tornado and the next is not. I simply don't know. What I do know is that, "...we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28.
I know that God's purpose is to bring everyone into a relationship with Him. I don't know why He uses suffering...but He does.
The last time I was in Mexico I was blessed to be in this tiny little village. In this village there were 35 children, a pastor and his wife and a few old women. All the parents were gone every day from 6 AM to 11 PM working in onion fields. They had nothing. The pastor's wife cooked the children meals every day, they cared for them, the hugged them and loved on them. The children had lice and played soccer with a rock. When we came in June they had not had meat since January. They suffered. They were poor.
I would give up my life in America in a heartbeat, if Riley would say yes, and I would move to that village. They had something there that we only dream of in America. They had peace. Hope. And above all, they trusted God in the midst of their suffering that He would take care of their everyday need. They had a faith in Jesus that is so far beyond mine...I don't know if I'll be able to catch up before I get to heaven.
We, here in America, may not see the blessing in the suffering.
We don't have God's eyes.
I do know this: I am not God and I will not try to be. I will go where He leads and be His hands and feet. And I will trust that it is not always for me to understand...but to believe in Him who has called me to share His grace and hope that one day there will be no more tears and no more pain.
It's not the best answer, but it's what I've got and cling to.
Please, share your thoughts with me.
Please, also know that I am not advocate for suffering. I wish that no one would ever have to suffer. But I also know that growth comes through suffering. I want to be in that place...growing. I believe that God is good all the time. But like I said, I do not have His eyes.
