Why did God allow the marines to shoot at the innocent fishermen in kerala?
Why did God allow the gang rape in Delhi?
Why did God allow the mass shooting in the US?
Why so many die of hunger and famine in Somalia and other low socio economic countries?
Why these earthquakes and volcanoes and Sandies and Katrinas?
and to be personal
Why does God allow sadness in my life?
Why does God allow debts and sickness in my life?
Where is God when I am lonely?
Well few of these questions were troubling me for the past few days. At least after the main headlines in the newspapers for the past one or two months.
May be divine intervention there was an inner prompting for me to search what is the reason. Somehow my hands fell on a wonderful book called "disappointment with God" by Philip Yancey. He puts forth three questions.
- Is God Unfair
- Is He silent
- Is He hidden
After reading the book i thought may be i should write a summary of the book.
Well now i have a different perspective for the disappointments in mine and the entire world.
summarizing the book is a tedious job. I know i cannot sum up the entire book.But an attempt to do so if at all it helps somebody who has a query.
the points which i would highlight might not be the exact answers offered. But it helps us to see things in a different perspective.
1. Israel nation was directly intervened both personally and as a nation whenever there were similar issues.
but has situations changed for them? Did they stop rebelling. In fact they were directly blessed in food, in land, in kings everything they asked God He provided. But all they could offer Him back was rebellion and disobedience and rejection.
2. People say God doesn't intervene now. But the truth is He is intervening even now. But might not be the way people expect. Why do we expect God to react in a way we want Him to react.
3. Agreed God is a just God. But His love curtails Himself from reacting blatantly. His love expects every soul to love Him back and turn back to Him. If He keeps on reacting to every sin who all will be left in this world. For God says the wages of sin is death. And beware. For Him anger is as grievous as murder and lust is as grievous as promiscuity or prostitution
4. In old testament time Yahweh responded directly to Israel. In Jesus time He was there to actively get involved in healing the sick and feeding the hungry. In this present time it is the Holy Spirit who is actively working through the church. That means through people like you and me. Let me ask you a question. Those who criticize that God is not doing anything for the poor and the needy and sick what are those people personally doing for those sick and needy and poor in and around them. It is easy to say about Somalia or Nigeria and seem not to see your immediate neighbours who are hungry and poor and sick.
5. God's priority is not physical deliverance. May be sometimes He uses that to bring many people to Him. But His ultimate purpose for you and me is spiritual deliverance. A deliverance from the clutches of sin. For which He died on the cross. If someone would understand this truth by any means He will do that. Man has the freedom to descend to deny God. (Though a person who denies God thinks of himself as an intellectual and superior to others who have blind faith). But will he be willing to ascend to believe God despite evidences.
6. Think in God's perspective. He is also grieved of the problems of this world. But more is His disappointment seeing the plight of this world, the sinfulness, the wretchedness.
Well as i said these are not answers for the questions. But they surely changed my perspective.
ultimately instead of being disappointed with God, we should face our disappointments with God.
You do not have to sit outside in the dark, if however you want to look at the stars you will find that darkness is required. the stars neither require it nor demand it -- Annie Dillardso have faith guys. do not be disappointed. His wonderful delivering hands are always there to take you through.
Moral of the story: Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in the reverse
