I don’t know. But, I really doubt it.
My brother died a long time ago and at a young age. I don’t remember asking this question back then. It wasn’t until 3 or 4 years ago that this crossed my mind. I think it began around the time a friend had asked me to pray for their sick grandchild. After much praying I got word that the grandchild had died. I’m talking like 1 or 2 years old. That’s harsh. So, what’s up with this?
Surrounding these types of tragedies are people saying things like, “It’s part of God’s plan.” Or, “God needed another angel in heaven.” I often hear Christians say things about God’s plan and how He knew us before we were born. That this is all preordained. Alright. So, he did kill that child and many other children. Oh, yeah. Now I remember what really prompted this train of thought – how about 6 million Jews during the Holocaust? So, he did kill my brother. And he did all of this for some reason beyond our comprehension. Right? Hmmm. I’m not buying it.
I did a search this morning for “did God kill my brother” and found a website that similarly asked and answered the question, “why did God kill my loved one?” It seemed a rather harsh write up about how people get “mad” at God and question his existence. Fair enough. I get it. The person who wrote it seemed to be sort of yelling at the reader.
Here’s an example:
“But does God care when we are sick or grieve the loss of a loved one? What an offensive thought! How dare you! You have sinned for even thinking this and are in need of repentance! Yes you are grieving right now, but how dare you blame it on God and think he doesn’t even care!”
Oh, great. Just what I needed. Another tongue lashing from a bible thumper. Ouch.
Okay, so that might be a bit harsh on my part. But, it wasn’t at all what I expected to find. I was looking for more of a discussion about how, on the one hand God knows all from beginning to end and has set this plan into motion as in “God’s perfect plan.” Oh boy! I just did a search for that and, dang, there’s a rabbit hole that I could spend days and days in. It just reinforces my initial question. Did he kill my brother? Maybe I should heed those words, “What an offensive thought!”
Ugh. When I thought of writing this entry this morning I really thought I could explain myself and my question. But, now I feel lost in it. I don’t have the answer. I’m not looking for validation in my belief. I just want to toss this out there and talk about it a little.
Now I’m lost. I’ll come back to it.
I wish I could get your thoughts. But whenever I open a blog post for comments I get a ton, A TON of spam! So I just leave comments off. I’m truly sorry about that.
With love,
Faith