"It was God's will."
I hear that sometimes from people who think they should somehow be thankful, or if not thankful, at least resigned to some tragedy they have endured, or some calamity they are facing. Poppycock. God does not will us to suffer. Suffering happens. It seems to be an integral part of our mortal lives. Just as there is darkness and light, joy and sorrow, life and death, salt and pepper... there are variations in our physical and emotional experiences and responses that go hand in hand with the whole mystery of being.
This is, perhaps, my biggest beef with the Old Testament... that strong image of God as jealous and wrathful and punishing... that He gets mad at us and makes us pay. "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord." And when I die I may very well find out that parts of that are true, but for this mortal life, the idea gives me no comfort, no reason to love, and certainly no reason to worship such a small-minded, hateful deity.
We can offer thanks to God, not for being the cause of our troubles, but for being the promise beyond our troubles. Thanks be to God.
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3 comments:
I, too, refuse to believe that it is God's will that I suffer. However, I do believe that the outcome of that suffering - whether I am healed or not, whether it is used for good or not - THAT I believe is God's will for my life.
Sister i agree with you totally, it also REALLY annoys the socks off me when people especially Christians infer that God doens't want people to enjoy themselves or somehow frowns upon it!!! Rubbish.
Amen sister! :)
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