When Life Just Goes Wrong
Why did the dog eat my socks?
Why did the coffee pot break with no warning before it finished my pot of coffee this morning? I wanted my coffee!!!!
The washing machine broke, seriously!?!
How do I only have $0.07 in my savings account? I should have over $1,000.
Why is there water all over the basement floor?
Why did that guy run the red light and hit my car?
Why did [insert name] die?
Why did I get sick?
Why did the doctor’s office just call with bad news?
Ever been in one of those situations? Long story short, sometimes life just stinks! Why though? Full disclaimer: This post is gonna be rough and emotionally heavy. It’s not a lighthearted read so buckle your seat belt.
I’ll take World Problems for $200, Alex.
The answer is ‘Free Will’.
What is the foundation of all my problems?
That is correct!
Remember my last post said that free will was the basis of our problems? Well that’s where we’re at again. I’m going to break this up because in general life can just be bad, which no one likes obviously, but sometimes the situations are so messed up and although the answer is the same it seems wrong to bunch a major tragedy in with water in the basement. Let’s start off easy with why is there water all over my basement? Why did the water heater just die and leak everywhere? It ruined everything I have down here. The stuff is in cardboard boxes not in plastic totes. Your situation may not be that the water heater died and the water damaged belongings and the flooring and whatever else you may have in the basement, but I can guess that you’ve had a similar experience. One where you questioned why did that just happen to me. Ya’ll, sometimes life just gonna life. It’s annoying, I know, but it’s true. My water heater, car, air conditioner, coffee pot, or whatever else doesn’t have a forever guarantee. Nothing does. Even lifetime warranties aren’t forever. They can refer to the typical life cycle of the product so if the manufacturer made them to only last 5 years then you get a warranty of 5 years. The warranty doesn’t guarantee it won’t break in that time, just that they’ll fix or replace it. Some warranties are worded differently but there isn’t a warranty out there that last forever. They simply don’t exist and it doesn’t make sense for them to. Nothing in this life is forever and that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.
Nothing Here Is Forever
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Genesis 2:16-18
God was real plain, ya’ll. You eat of this tree and you die. They took a chance, they gambled, they lost. They ate of the tree that God Himself said not to eat of and they died. Spiritually at first, there was an immediate separation from God, but aside from that they began to die physically. Did they notice it at first? Of course not. Do we notice when we wake up that we are declining into death every day? No, we don’t and they didn’t either. Death began in the Garden and since then nothing of this world is everlasting. The products that are used don’t last forever because everything of this world has an expiration date. Sometimes things just are worn down and stop working. Typically in those situations, while we get easily frustrated about it, we have a basic understanding of why it is the way it is. We understand that because of the original sin things here on earth, including their components, don’t last forever. What about things like death? Why does death even happen?
I loved [insert name] and I wanted them to stay with me. Why did they have to die? I needed them. Let’s head back to free will for a moment. The original sin brought death to our bodies and some bodies last for years and years, others just don’t last as long. Death is a part of this world. Again, I think most people understand that death happens and why it happens. Our bodies just aren’t meant for forever. Things wearing down or breaking, including our bodies, we can typically understand, but then we start getting into the tragedies that happen that we can’t comprehend.
The Evil We Can’t Understand
I can’t grasp why murder and rape happen. I can’t understand why children are abused – sexually, physically, mentally, or emotionally. I can’t wrap my mind around why a husband would beat his wife. So many things I can’t really grasp, which I suppose is a good thing. At the core though I do understand. It sounds like such a lame answer, but the offender is a sinner and sinners do what they do, they sin. We were given free will and as horrible as it sounds just as some people go full force into good things others go full force into evil. Most people would probably agree with me when I say that the worst is when it involves an innocent child. Why God, why did you let xyz happen to them? Why did you allow a monster to do that to them? You can do anything, you have power over all things so why didn’t you stop it? Any of those questions sound familiar? No? Just me? Ok, I’ll ride that train alone because I’ve asked those questions over and over. God, I don’t get it, why did You let this happen? Why didn’t You stop it? Why? Why? Fine, God, You gave free will but what about the child’s free will? Why did they suffer? Why did you allow their innocence or their life to be taken? That monster destroyed them. Like I said for me when we talk about children that is the worst and the hardest for me. If I believe that God gave us free will and I do then I have to believe He gave us free will even in the bad. There is really good news though, Jesus came to save us.
Hope Beyond This Life
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
He didn’t come to this earth to save our bodies though. Our bodies are temporary. We only need them for a time, they are vessels that are needed only while we are here on this earth. They are not built for eternity, but our soul is and that is what Christ came to save. I can almost imagine Jesus siting with his hands tied while crying as his children, but especially actual children suffer. I can picture Him trying to speak to the heart of the offender as he or she is committing horrendous crimes against others, trying to break through the walls of sin and get them to stop, but at the end of the day He can’t force them to stop or He is a liar and didn’t give free will. If He is a liar then He isn’t God and He isn’t just. Do you see how if we try and break apart who He is we end up with even more issues? So many people like to spout but God is love so He wouldn’t allow xyz to happen. The whole point is that it is because He IS love that xyz happens. It is His love for us that He allows free will to exist. Free will is such a hard concept when we look at it through the lens of God’s love. We want to understand how a God of love can allow such bad things because we believe that He is sovereign and all powerful and He is! Genuine free will though cannot force obedience without negating the gift of free will. Nor can it override every evil choice. If it did free will would simply be an illusion and God would be a liar.
God is not a man, that he should lie Numbers 23:19a
Final Note: Please note that just because I understand that free will exist – and I whole heartedly believe that explains the how and why evil is done – I understand that it doesn’t take the pain away, I also understand that in the middle of grief, we are just that, in the middle of grief and grief like other emotions is God given. Even in the midst of grief we must also be able to understand that God’s love is still there surrounding us through it all.