I have had many people call me crazy for believing in God because I am so sick. How can a God, that you says loves you, let this bad thing happen to you? Or to other people? How can you continue to follow this God? Don't you know it is a crutch, an emotional crutch?
It is a good grouping of questions. Firstly, I will answer that I have been studying other faiths the last four years of illness. Logically, none make as much sense as the one I am following. This, of course, sounds like great prejudice.
Basically it seems, from all that I have read, that other faiths all ask that the person do good works in an attempt to meet whatever standards are needed to be able to go to a heaven, or to act well regardless of the fact that there is no heaven. The problem being that every faith has different requirements, so how do you know you are walking the right one? The only option I have found that is vastly different in this, is Christianity--wherein a God took human form to die as a perfect sacrifice, covering every sin ever done by those who are WILLING to believe in Him. Then, it is expected that the followers will enter Heaven. The believer is expected, as an honor to his God, to act in holiness. Even Atheism is not unusual, as there are some faiths that ask for works and promise nothing after death.
Again, I was raised in a Christian home, but it just seems so much simpler to have a God who will save you if you ask Him to, and then He asks that in honor of Him, we act respectful to what He said in His Word. There is no doubt then. No wondering if I did enough to get to Heaven.
What could I do to earn Heaven, if that were my only chance? I am too ill to get out of bed many days, too ill to move much, or cannot stand the light if it is a good day. Would that be fair, if the other faiths were right, that I needed to earn my way to Heaven (if the faith thought it existed) when I cannot do much? What of those who are mentally never beyond a 2 year old? Or less? In my faith, it is understood that there is an age of accountability, when a person is innocent (unknowing of sinful ways) but not sinless. It is at this age that children or mentally disabled adults are likely accepted in Heaven. They cannot know and make a choice.
What of this God, then, that allows such awful, terrible things to happen? What words can you come up with now?
I will be the first to admit that being ill is EXTREMELY difficult, for me, for my family, for my friends. I will also add that I know there are people worse off than me. So how can God allow it? I will ask another question: When you get into your car, do you make decisions on whether or not to text while driving? Do you get into the car intoxicated? You make a choice at that moment. We make choices every single day that may lead to our deaths, our disability, or other things. It is that freedom of choice that introduced trouble into our paths. That sounds crazy, you say.
How much freedom does an animal have? All birds make the kind of nest that that variety of bird makes. All beavers that I ever heard of make log jams for homes and protection. But they do it the same way. We, on the other hand, can make an enormous variety of homes, and, as far as I know, are the only beings on this planet that do so. It may leak, it may fall down on our heads, but we made it. We are just a bit different that the other creatures on this planet. It was choices many, many years ago that made astronomical changes in our DNA, etc., and as science points out, we add more issues to our DNA with each passing year. I thoroughly believe that we made the choice to do exactly what we wanted, much as a child, given the chance, will sneak and eat an entire cookie jar. Our judgement is not always the best. And we made the choice, and continue to make the choices, that go against what God said He commanded as acceptable behavior.
The God I know granted us free will. I can decide to text and drive down the freeway. I might be fine. I might hit and kill someone with my car. I might be killed. I might just get a ticket. But I can make that choice. There was a choice made a long time ago, and we tend to continue to make bad choices, because it seems like a fun idea. God gave us free will that we might love Him for Himself, not because we were forced to. Ever see a parent who attempts to force the child to love? It does not work.
Then why doesn't God just stop us from making bad choices? He sometimes does, with guilt beforehand. Or, if you have read the Bible, and paid close attention, often the things He told His prophets (teachers) to write down will prevent some heartaches. The problem is we live with so many independent beings, all making good and bad choices, that the effects spill out in all directions. If I am hit by a drunk driver, it was not I, like as not, who made the bad choices. The other drive was drinking. And it was up to the other driver, in general, to make a good choice. The weird narrow shaves we all have? Maybe God is stepping in at that moment, but if you don't believe in a God, you would see it as fate..
Why doesn't God stop bad health? As I said, there are so many genetic quirks, and they are finding out more and more, scientifically, that the genetic errors we have come from way, way back. He could stop it. And I think He does at times. But we still have our free will, and we chose a long time ago to walk the path of a broken world over a pure one. We always want our own way. How often do we really spend time doing exactly what someone else wants----no matter how much we love them? We might do a few things, but we don't handle doing exactly what we are told minute after minute for years. If I chose to smoke, knowing its ill effects, was it my fault that I got cancer or my spouse's? It was mine. It does not make sense to blame God. In the cases of diseases such as mine, where the cause is not even certain, how do I know if I am causing the disease? Either way, I get great comfort from God which no one who does not know God will understand, so I shall not even speak of it. I will not be mocked for the love I have with my God, and that He gives me and those who believe in Him and that He came to provide salvation if we will but ask and believe.
I believe in God more so now that before. And it is still considered a psychological crutch to many. So be it. He is a great psychological crutch, because this is the Being who created the mind I think with. Of course He would be a good crutch. I am not angry with Him that I am ill, purely because without Him I would loose my mind. He is the perfect crutch, and I am grateful that He is Someone I am beginning to know a bit more all the time. He is the strongest crutch. He says as much, by saying His yoke was easy. Anything is easier with God....sorrow with hope, versus without hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment