Some of Nelson’s journal entries are too lengthy to include in one blog post, since we like to stick with 500-600 words. Thus many are marked “Part 1, 2, or 3.” Today’s post is the first half of a two-day entry.

On this day, Nelson digs for the reasons why God stands back and allows things like accidents, murders…. and cancer to happen.

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 September 3, 2022

Today we leave Rochester for Sawyer to see if I can make it through a 5 day trip down there to see the family and show Annso’s parents that area and introduce them to some of the gang. I’m looking forward to it and hoping for the best.

I’m shocked it only shows that it takes 6.5 hours on Google Maps. I thought it would be more like 8. Good news, since we have little Will and that might be a challenge, depending on him. He’s been sleeping better after a bit of a regression to getting up 4 times during the night.

Babies are a challenge for sure, trying to love them and be nice to them, but keeping the walls up to keep your life from becoming a crazy circus where you’re up every hour of the day and night. I think when people try to use apologetics to defend God and make him out to be “nice” or that he doesn’t want people to suffer, they are going down the wrong path.

I have cancer. I can ask God, “Why did you give a 49 year old guy cancer—a guy who just had a little baby that you gave him? Cancer that might kill him inside of a couple years?” I can ask, “Why me? Why not him or her or him?”

God is good. He must have a reason. That’s true, but if you read the Bible, there are things that don’t have answers that satisfy human, politically correct-leaning ears, that want people sitting in church on Sunday morning at seeker friendly churches to be pleased with what they hear and to be happy.

Take this for example: “One of you will say to me: ‘Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?’ But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” (Romans 9:19-21)

Paul doesn’t defend God. He doesn’t act like God owes humanity a nice time or a fair shake. He simply says, “You have no ground to stand on, you who would question God. He does what he does, and your job is to deal with it.”

God is the potter and we are the clay. Simple as that. Not nice, not what I want, but simply the truth. I used to look for answers when I was younger, about God, but no pastor or book could answer other than just saying, “God is good.” And how unsatisfying is that for an answer, just a blanket statement defending anything God does.

tropical hurricane approaching the USA.Elements of this image are furnished by NASA.

God lets innocent people die horribly gruesome deaths at the hands of merciless tyrants without lifting a finger to help them. Probably so. Natural disasters like hurricanes wipe out thousands of innocent people. Did God do that? God allowed Job to get hammered. God allows me to get cancer.

(….to be continued tomorrow)

“The Lord of Hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? As for his stretched-put hand, who can turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:27)