Faithful Christians used to drive me nuts. You know the kind. They hear some awful thing that someone is going through, maybe even themselves, and they hold steadfast in their faith. They say things like, ‘God is with me.’ ‘At least we don’t have to suffer alone.’ ‘I know God must be hurting, too.’ I remember thinking, ‘If God is so loving, why isn’t He stopping this?’ ‘If God is this powerful, and loving being, why isn’t He saving me from being raped?’ ‘If God is the Great I Am, and Creator of all, why does He ‘allow’ bad things to happen to innocent people?’ Let’s delve into the ‘why’.

First, we’ll get the most irritating point out of the way. God gave His children the gift, or curse, of free will (I can feel your eyes rolling, which is understandable as I used to do the same). We get to decide to do and be good, or to do and be evil. There are consequences to this ‘gift’. Consequences that become a chain reaction. Here are two examples:

One morning, a drunk man decided to drive home. His decision cost my late husband his life, which in turn destroyed part of mine. It crushed me on such a deep level, that he could never begin to understand the destruction, and lasting devastation of his choice. His choice affects countless lives to this day, decades later.

My free will choice was to stay in a loveless, abusive relationship. My decision affected myself, my family, and my friends. They grieved the loss of their loved one who was still living. Relationships were damaged, hearts were broken, and trust was lost.

Free will always involves more than just oneself. More on this next week. God bless, my friends.