Why?

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” (Psalm 115: ESV)

I have written on this topic before, but this question was posed to me yet again and it is no wonder. I was asked, why does the God who you preach as good as good God allow children to die? Why do people die of cancer when a good God could heal everyone with the snap of a finger? How would you answer this? Could you? Would you?

When confronted with the mysteries of God, we often lose our words. We feel like we are "unqualified," whatever that means. Unbelievers capitalize on this when challenging believers.

God is not human; He does not think like us; His plan is not made with human logic. When we hear of children dying and wonder why, we must remember God knew the end before the beginning. He knows when and how every life in creation will end. A bird in the woods will not die without God’s hand. When asked why, my response is, do you know God’s plan for that person? Do you know what that person may have been saved from or saved for? Do you understand that God is not human and does not think like you do?

We cannot be conformed to the image of Christ without suffering. Paul reminds us we died with Christ and were reborn with Christ. People often say things like I would not wish an illness on my child to teach them a lesson. No, you would not, but you are not God. God molds us; He modifies our behavior through trials and suffering. So, why did three thousand people have to die in the twin towers? I do not know why, but I can tell you that God used evil for good. That was an evil act, and God used it for good, just as in the story of Joseph. We have no idea how many people turned back to God that day. How many believers were brought home to God? How many people who witnessed it turned to God as believers?

God is transcendently pure. He is all holy, and all that is good. He defines goodness, but we also know He is a just God. He will not tolerate evil. It is for this reason that Christ was sent as a propitiation so that the we who are evil could be redeemed and rejoined with God, and God would remain the justifier.

It takes some faith to accept what we cannot understand. We know that children often die in the Bible. We also know that those acts of evil were used by God as good. God's mysteries will continue. I hope that my memory stays with me when I reach heaven so I can ask God about these things. I hope He will tell me, not that it matters; He is God.

Grace and Peace!