WHY?

By Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, Pastor

St. John’s Congregational Church

With horror and sadness we have all watched the news reports of the tragic earthquake and subsequent tsunami that recently struck southern Asia and Africa claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. As with most tragic events in our world and our lives, the question of why slowly creeps into our mind. Many of us were raised in church environments and by parents and grandparents that told us we should never ask God why – as if true faith precluded curiosity. Whether we openly confess it or not, we have all had moments where tragic and sudden death, disease and destruction have pushed us to the point of asking God, why? Why did God do this or that? Why do bad and evil things happen to good and innocent people? The question, “Why, God?” is inescapable and it is often the point and place where many people leave and lose their faith in God. In academia it is called theodicy, the question of God’s judgment, and there are thousands of authors who have tried to make sense of the tension between our faith in God’s omnipotent sovereign rule and the very real evil we see in our daily lives.

I will not pretend that this is an easy question to answer, if there is an answer. All I know is that our traditional Christian thinking and teaching has proven to be inadequate and insufficient for me. I find it difficult to accept that all sickness, suffering, and tragedies are part of God’s will and plan for our lives. How can I really tell someone that God has inflicted the very worst of life upon them simply to make them stronger or to test their faith – that He took away a child or parent just to teach them a lesson? That’s somewhat contradictory to the God who we preach is love and came in the person of Jesus Christ that we might have life more abundantly (John 10:10). Can I really accept that the tsunami, the events of 9/11 and even my father’s cancer were all God’s doing?

As I have wrestled with the question why in my own mind and searched for answers in God’s Holy Word, I have come to a few conclusions that I share with you. When we read about Job we see that there is a space for righteous anger and curiosity directed towards God. For certain God does take us through storms and struggles to equip and prepare us for greater things in our lives. And, yes, there are some things that God does that go beyond our understanding and require us to have faith in His care. But the Bible is also clear that everything that happens in our world and our lives is not necessarily part of God’s will. I believe that since God is sovereign and omniscient, everything that happens is by divine permission but not divine initiation. That is, God can do anything but He is not responsible for everything.

As humans God has granted us freewill, a power that we often use in destructive ways. We make choices that not only impact and infect us but also affect others around us. When a man decides to drink and drive and subsequently takes the life of an innocent driver, his bad decision, not God’s will, is to blame and that decision brought a tragedy into the world. Daily we are tragically and negatively affected by decisions that are neither our own nor part of God’s perfect plan for our lives. Millennia of evil and selfish decisions by humanity have not only caused innumerous tragedies in the world but have also fostered a very real spirit and powerful presence of evil that seeks to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Our freewill and the reality of an evil presence in the world take the blame away from God for every evil and tragic event we witness.

The good news is that, although God is not the cause of evil, He is its cure. He is not the source of evil but its solution. God is able to take what was evil and work it for your good and His glory (Gen. 50:20). In Him we find the strength to live through and respond to tragedies in our lives. Don’t let anger and curiosity around a loss force you from God but rather let them drive you to God. As the hymn writer said, and I have found to be true – God will take care of you. Sometimes your faith is all you have to pull you through.

Amen. n