I was reminded the other day of a post I had wanted to put up last summer. There is so much one could write on this subject, but alas, I barely have time to write for my dissertation!
What reminded me of it was a conversation I had with a woman here in St Andrews about God and the age-old question of the ‘problem of evil’. ‘How can God be good if he lets all these bad things happen’. ‘Why doesn’t God stop it’? ‘Is he not powerful enough’? ‘Does it mean that he doesn’t exist’?
The questions are endless and have been asked for thousands of years, and probably at some point in the life of everyone who has ever lived. Some day, I firmly believe, we will have the answers. Until then, God asks us to have faith in him, that when he says he is a good God, he IS a good God, no matter what it may look like to our limited perceptions of the current state of the world and world history.
And this ‘problem’ of God’s relationship to evil is discernable even to a first grader…
One sunny day last summer mom and Ava were out on the deck tending to the bird feeders and baths. A small, yellow goldfinch was hanging about and would fly to within only a few feet of Ava. As she was admiring the beautiful creation, Wilbur (the dog) did what Wilbur is prone to do. Faster than either the bird or Ava could realize, the yellow feathers were hanging out of Wilbur’s mouth, and Ava was devastated, having watched the circle of life go ‘round before her six year old eyes.
Mom, who is, in every situation, a great defender of her best friend, tries to do so once again—except that this time she entered territory no person dares to enter.
‘It’s not Wilbur’s fault’, she says. ‘God made him to be a hunter, and so he’s only doing what God made him to do’.
That sounds like a lovely answer, except that logic always wins – even to a first grader.
Ava says, ‘So it’s God’s fault then’!
‘No… well… uh… er… God’s not… uh… hmm. Hey! We forgot to fill the bird feeders over there! Oh, and look at these flowers, aren’t they pretty? Do you want to go down to the river today? I think we should have some ice cream. Would you like some, too?’
Mom wasn’t quite ready for that answer and will be joining me in a theology class or two. :) It will be called: Practical Theology for Parents and Grandparents: How to answer your children’s profound questions about everything you know nothing about.
We do serve a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, and rich in love. And if he says he is good, then HE IS GOOD! I hope you are all able to trust in his love and goodness today, no matter what situations in life he has you in at the moment.
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