GOD THE FATHER

Saturday, June 17, 2006

If God is really our Father, and cares deeply for us, and if he is Almighty, so that he can move mountains, then why does he permit us to suffer? Why doesn’t he simply stop the cancer from eating and prevent the earthquake from destroying homes and make the deserts spring up with wheat to feed the millions of people who are starving?

If God answered all our prayers the way we want, then who would be God? God wouldn’t be God, would he? God would only be a genie doing magic tricks to keep us happy. We would be God, wouldn’t we? We would make the decisions, call the shots, run the universe.

Jesus taught us to call God our Father but He looked at suffering differently than we do. There wasn’t any “If you don’t help me out here, I won’t believe in you any longer.” He said, “Not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Submission. Obedience. Letting God be God. Letting the Father be Almighty. This is a different spirit from the one we usually have, isn’t it?

In Romans chapter 8, the Apostle Paul tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Paul knew that things do not always work out in this life as we would like. But he believed that the Father loves us and that nothing will ever destroy that love.

It’s a matter of faith. Believing in God the Father Almighty doesn’t save us from suffering and loss, any more than believing in our earthly parents can save us from suffering and loss. But believing makes all the difference.