Is God a good God? Recently that's a question I have heard a lot of. I've heard it from believing friends, non believing friends, and even from my own thoughts.
It’s hard to believe that God is good, from a certain point of view anyways. Human beings around the world suffer horrid events. Sometimes it seems that the random chance of where we are born determines how good God can appear. In third world countries and poor states of America natural disasters consume and destroy. In Africa people starve, die, and are forced into slavery. Around the world young women are forced into becoming Human traffic. Every day babies and children die of something that could have been easily cured.
How can a God who permits these things be truly good? Is often the question I ask myself. However, late its turned to be a question more like:
How can God, one so good like ours, love us for the things we do and don't do.
By chance I was born in America. By being born here, I was born to privilege. By this privilege alone GOD has called me to help those who aren't as lucky as me. It’s in people’s hands to help. Donating time, money, food, and other resources I alone could save one person’s life. By signing a petition to stop human trafficking, by not buying diamonds mined from slaves, I could stop one person from becoming a slave. If all of us participated we could change a lot of the way the world worked. If I vote, I can effect who is elected and who is my leader, and therefore I participate in changing the world.
In the worst ways I have heard individuals say they will not help because the ones who suffer do so willingly. They say they must suffer for one mistake, or for their parents mistakes, or for being born in a place where they are just so unlucky. These individuals are often ones, who could really make a big difference... I believe God tries and tries to speak into their lives yet they are stubborn and decide they shouldn't help because these people deserve to suffer.
WHY does GOD love people who do not take action? Why Does he love us for being such corrupt individuals we turn a blind eye to slavery? It’s because HE is good. God forgives us, he creates miracles in our everyday lives. It’s so easy to forget his goodness when we have become so accustomed to it. The very process of trees creating oxygen for us to breathe, a perfect amount of gravity for us to be able to walk on the surface of our earth, the perfect distance from the sun to Earth, the perfection of how babies are formed in the uterus... how are these not miracles, and pure expression of GODS goodness? He came here; he died for me, for you, for everyone. He suffered so that we may live. How is this not his goodness?
1 Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service.
Do we people even try to live in Gods goodness, most of people don't participate. They blame, blame God, and say they aren't big enough to make a change so they don't even try.
I believe that, Yes even if we participated, some bad things would still happen. That is just part of being in a fallen world. Not one person can be perfect and because of this someone will suffer. Someone will be oppressed. BUT the goal is to use Gods goodness in our life to help others not just ourselves.
