Why?

Why? 

·         Why did this happen?

·         Why are the 3 D’s---death, disease, and destruction a constant in our world?

·         Why suffering?  Why pain?

·         Why loss of relationship and the end of all things?

·         Why the futility of life?  

The “why” question must be addressed in order to frame out:

·         How can we move ahead in the face of the inexplicable?

·         So what:  What does this mean for you, my friends and my family?

In all this, I invite your comments and feedback as I post my observations.  Please do feel free to disagree.  Secondly, you should know that the basis for my vantage point is twofold:  His Word as found in Scripture and how Jesus reveals Himself and affirms His Word through the power of the Holy Spirit.  This is the only place I find Truth. 

Here’s the uncomfortable and rotten answer:  We don’t know why, and likely may not ever know the why to suffering.  Deuteronomy 29:29(a) helps explain that the mind of God is unknowable.

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever….”

That only makes sense if you consider the intellectual horsepower of God alone, regardless of all His other attributes.  If He is the Creator of all things, His knowledge and power are not quantifiable. His ways exceed our capacity and ability to comprehend (see Romans 11:33-36) and yet, He makes Himself known to us as a loving, kind, and gracious God who will go to any extreme to gain personal, individual relationship with me. This foundation informs what I believe to be true regarding suffering, pain and death.  Equally important, this is the basis for how I live in the” now” with a “living hope” that is not based on the power of positive thinking or denial, my fabricated sense of reality, nor some other “talk show” construct du jour for rationalizing the reality of the situation.  Truth is the forum for objectivity and clarity on the issue of pain and suffering and asking “why.”  It is a question that begs to be asked and not ignored.

If the answer is unknowable, then how can I move forward and avoid the paralysis and confusion of “not knowing why?”  The short answer:  This entire issue is about faith.  Faith that God is sovereign, that His promises are reliable, that He loves me and will go to any extreme for me.  Why choose that option of faith vs. the other option, which is to ignore or tune-out God?  That is the question each of us must answer for ourselves.  Reality check:  Control is at the core of knowing why.  If I know why, I can control the outcome.  Mankind has an inherent inability to trust God. 

The next issue is:  I better be right.  How do I know, and what are the indicators that placing my trust in Jesus is the right decision?  You don’t want to bet on the wrong horse. 

The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not.  Eric_Hoffer(1902 - 1983)