BECAUSE I SAID SO (Vaguely Worried)

It is an awkward and precarious thing to talk to a child about a loving God as his consciousness evolves to include an awareness of world events. I cannot pinpoint the moment with my own kids, but there is one, I am sure, when a 7AM radio newscast on the way to school about a suicide bombing, tsunami or school massacre is not just background noise. There is a moment, I am sure, when every child of a certain age focuses on the words and processes the reality of what is being reported.

When I walk into the kitchen and find one of my perfect innocents transfixed by some horrific photo on the cover of the newspaper, I rarely have the stomach for a discussion. Reality is so complicated – the history and circumstances that led to that terrible moment in time when the photographer snapped the picture. The best I can do is reassure my kids (and myself) that the universe is a fundamentally good place. God loves us all, and when we seek His grace in our daily lives we can know peace, no matter what is happening in the world, with us or to others. Sounds good, yes?

"So, why does he let so many people get killed? Doesn’t he love them?"

And here’s where it gets complicated for one and all -- that disconnect between what my child understands as love, and how ‘our loving Father’ could let such horrors take place in His universe. At times like this, I wish I were a Bible jockey, but that is not the case. I might even wish to call in Ed Milkovich (a fellow parishioner), who delivered such a brilliantly useful sermon in mid-May. Without those options, I rely mostly on what I believe and what I can wrap my mind around: that God created a perfect world for us and is available when we seek Him. But He is not a puppeteer, does not interfere or take sides – not in war, Nature or politics (and certainly not in sporting events).

Jesus showed us by word and example how He would have us live. And, no, hurting other people, for any reason, is not something Jesus endorsed. But we have free will, which is a good-news-bad-news sort of thing. Our job is to try to make the right choices (and we do know right from wrong, instinctually, because God is in us whether we acknowledge Him or not), to love one another, be of service, and embrace everything glorious that God provides.

"Because the Bible says so? "

Mostly because I’m the daddy, and I say so.