Once again I’ve heard someone say that it was a person’s time to die; that a horrific and untimely accident and all its consequences must have been part of God’s plan.
I’ve never been comfortable with the explanation that God pulls people off the shelf like expired milk, or visits trial and torture to test our faith. Death and illness don’t ask God if it’s okay to claim our bodies any more than thieves ask God if it’s okay to rob us.
Yes, God designed all of life, wherein illness is a factor of basic mortal weakness, and exposures to evil and risk come with the human condition. But in the passing of each momentary situation, how can we believe that God pulls the trigger or picks up a red phone and orders suffering and demise?
Through the struggles and mysteries of life, I prefer to think of God being on my side – the comforter and sustainer rather than an enigmatically benevolent oppressor. I came from God, and one day I will return to a state of pure spirit with God. During this walk on earth, I am divided from God only by my embodiment in the physical world.
The test in life is to open our enduring spirits ever more broadly and deeply to sharing this phase of life with a God who is closer than our breath. The challenge is to maintain a life in and through the spirit that the physical world cannot overcome.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
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