Have you ever wondered why God allows such suffering in the world? Suffering like the floods in Pakistan or the earthquakes in Haiti. Why children are dying in Africa because they have no clean drinking water? Me too.
What kind of God allows oppression, slaughter, injustice, hurricanes and famines? Why does He allow them and does He care? Good questions and in many cases, questions we may not have answers to until we get to Heaven, in which case we won't care any longer.
Cynics claim that suffering proves that God doesn't exist or that He isn't loving. The truth is, no human really has answers for such questions. Suffering, in many ways, is a mystery. Maybe we should all just learn to accept that. Honestly? I have a hard time simply accepting that.
There is, you see a comforting mystery in all the suffering. A mystery that is comforting and one that the cynic cannot dismiss - the fact that love is everywhere suffering is. Watch a nurse hold a hurting child's hand, watch a firefighter or police officer or a relief volunteer - the list goes on and on.
Love wouldn't be a natural act to a random universe. Love is intentional by design. Love is divine by nature. So in spite of of all the dozens and dozens of things we do not understand or like about this world - there is most assuredly - love surrounding us. And if love surrounds us then God surrounds us for God is Love (1John 4:8).
I've come to peace with the simple fact that I am not capable of explaining everything with my little human mind. Mystery, I now understand, is a reality of this life. John, Ringo, Paul and George had it right in the Beatles song..."All you need is love...Love is all you need".
May you experience His love in such a powerful way today that you are compelled to share it with others (Matthew 22:36-40).
