Chapter 5: See ya Later

I would venture to guess that most people, both Christians and non-Christians, have an opinion as to why bad things happen. Most don’t actually put a lot of thought into it until something devastating happens to them or a loved one. But when it does, the need to understand it becomes overwhelming.
Some believe the “heaven/hell on earth” theory, which stands on the notion that good people are rewarded with a good life, and bad people receive a “hell on earth” kind of life. But I only have to think of all the children who are abused at the hands of their parents to know that theory isn’t right. What could a 3 month old have possibly done to deserve their “hell on earth” before they were sent to the E.R. with deadly injuries. Most of us know someone who is not such a good person, or maybe even a really bad person, but good things keep happening for them. And who doesn’t know a great person who has had their life torn apart by some kind of tragedy or loss?
Others believe in (what I think is called) predestination. That is the idea that, at the beginning of time, God planned out every single thing that would happen on this earth and that nothing we can do could change the outcome. If true, it would mean that we don’t actually have free will and that we aren’t really accountable for the choices that we make. It would mean that God did choose to give Kecia cancer and that He kept her from finding out about it until it was in the 4th and final stage for a reason that He has not revealed to us yet. Now, I believe that God does intervene on our behalf sometimes for a specific purpose because I know that there are a lot of things that happen in life that we initially think are bad, but God later reveals to us that He has been in control all along and that what happened was in our best interest. Like buying a house, for example. We might want it REALLY bad, and even though we are praying for God’s will, we are really saying “I want this house, please give it to me.” We feel so sad and let down when things don’t work out, but then the layoffs start coming at work and we realize that getting that house would have meant putting our family in huge financial jeopardy. Suddenly, we are thankful that we can afford the house we have with only one income and we see that God really did know what was best. We’re just lucky he didn’t give us what we were begging for. But, if we didn’t have free will then it would mean that it was God who made a man stop at a bar, drink way too much and then get behind the wheel of his car and kill a father of 4 as he headed home from work. (This is probably a good place for me to remind all of you that I am NOT a Biblical scholar and that I know I am not an authority on the subject to which I am writing. This is merely my understanding of the Bible and my explanation to you based on my relationship with God.) I don’t believe that God makes people cheat on their spouses so that they can learn some great lesson or that every person sitting in jail is there because God made him do something unlawful to fulfill God’s greater purpose. People do bad things because we are all sinful by nature. We all do things to one degree or another that are self serving but we have choices every single day that lead us either closer to or farther away from being a godly person. God doesn’t have to make us sin. We do it so naturally on our own. The Bible is full of God’s commandments for us and He instructs us quite clearly on how we are to live a godly life. How silly it would be for Him to give us a list of rules if He had already scripted our lives out to include sinful acts that we could not avoid because he was the puppeteer and we were merely puppets on a string. No, this makes no sense to me.
By now, you are either very angry with me for disagreeing with your theory or you wish I would just hurry up and tell you what I think on the subject. Either way, I appreciate you sticking with me this long. I do tend to be long winded. (Kecia hates that about me) What I discussed with Kecia was this:God is a loving god. Not a sparrow falls to the ground that He doesn’t know and care about. Life was, at one time, perfect. Unfortunately, when we were given free will, that meant we always had the choice to sin. Eventually we all do. When sin entered the world so did suffering. God promised that there would be sadness, sickness, disappointment, hurt, loss, toil, and death because of it. Christians are not immune to the effects of sin in the world. We are guaranteed to suffer from it just as everyone else does. We don’t all suffer the same things but have you ever met someone that has NEVER had some of these things happen to him? I don’t believe God made my mother get Alzheimer’s disease or Kecia get cancer. He doesn’t plan for little girls to be molested by their fathers or high-jackers to take the lives of hundreds of people. I believe the effects of sin break His heart. I believe He is saddened and sickened by so much of what happens here on Earth. He never promised that as Christians He would save us from all the pain and sorrow, but He did promise that He would be there for us every step of the way. He would walk beside us, giving strength, offering hope, sending help, providing comfort. He doesn’t promise to intervene with a miracle or answer all of our prayers the way we want them to be answered. But he does promise that once our lives here on Earth have ended, He will take us to be with Him eternally in paradise where there will be no pain, sickness, sadness or death. I don’t believe God “makes” bad things happen to us just so we can serve His greater purpose, but I do believe that He will use every opportunity, even the bad ones, for good if we give it over to Him. I know that, just like Grandad, God grieves to see Kecia in pain. I don’t know if He will grant Kecia complete healing or not. That is what I pray for everyday, and I will continue to do so because the Bible tells us to “make our requests known to God”. I tend to believe that He will since He has already provided several miracles in Kecia’s recovery so far. We will just have to keep praying and believing. But I am comforted to know, that when we leave this earth, whether it be tonight, or when we are old and grey, it will not be “good-bye”. It will just be “see ya later”.