Hard Questions pt. 1

  Things are not always clear-cut in our lives. There will always be things that we don't understand, things that we question. As I have been praying about what I wanted to write about, God reminded me of questions we have throughout our relationship with Him. This new series is all about the hard questions that we wrestle with. A question I always hear and want to start with is, "Why would God let bad things happen?" 


    A father told this story about his son that I think applies to our relationship with God. His son was curious; when a candle was burning, he went to touch the flame of the candle. The mother saw this and wanted to protect her son from the flame. The father knew it wouldn't scar him, it wouldn't hurt him forever, and by touching the flame, his son would learn not to touch fire. The father and mother disagreed and did not let their son touch the flame. A couple of days later, they went to a barbecue with a full-fledged fire. This fire had embers, coals, logs, and a massive flame. The son again went to touch the fire, but both of his parents reacted this time, knowing that the fire would hurt him. The father asked, "If I had let my son touch the flame from the candle, would he have gone to touch the fire?"


    I loved this because this is such a beautiful picture of our Heavenly Father. There will be things in this life that we don't understand. Times when things are complex, and we wonder, why would God let me go through this? But maybe God lets us touch the flame of a candle, so we don't get burned in the fire of a barbecue. 


    God knows that the flame of a candle isn't comfortable, but it won't hurt forever. In comparison, the flame of a fire is going to leave a lasting impact. Sometimes in life, we go through the uncomfortable burn of a flame, so we don't get burned in the fire. It will change everything if we look at it with the perspective that God is protecting us. 




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