Pastor Maurice Mo White served a parish in Massillon, OH. One night as the church gathered for a Lenten service, one of the members fell and broke her hip. The woman’s injury required surgery, which the doctors said went well, but then in recovery she died. At the visitation service Pastor White stood next to the bereaved husband. As people offered their sympathies he heard people saying things like, God had a plan for this somehow . . . This was God’s will and we must live by it . . . This is the Lord’s doing and a test of your faith. After the gathering Pastor White went home to rewrite the funeral sermon. He began with this phrase:

MY GOD DOES NOT PUSH PEOPLE DOWN CHURCH STEPS

God cannot be blamed for all the brokenness of this world. Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. Romans 5:12. The original source of evil is the devil and man’s wicked, perverse will. God’s foreknowledge of sin controls the evil and imposes a limit, but He is not the cause. When bad things happen one of the first things that come to the human mind is the question, Why is this happening to me? On the one hand it’s not wrong to ponder our problems and ask, Why? Selfexamination is good; maybe our troubles are a result of our own unwise behavior, but then again, not always. Not all cancer is caused by smoking. And sometimes babies die in childbirth even when the mother has taken the greatest care of her health. And when such traumatic events occur, people do question and ask Why, God? Why are you doing this? But again the answer: God is not the cause of the all the bad in the world. And in fact when bad comes near you the Lord has promised to be there to help you. Although we can’t always see His light because of the dark, nevertheless God promises to come to us in lowliness, suffering, even in death.

God is the author of life, not death. Why do you look for the living among the dead? Luke 24:6. Adam brought sin and death - Christ brought life! Our Savior ran the race, He died on the cross, but then rose to life to bring us God’s gift of life. For if by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17. Life is God’s answer to all suffering and death. Think about Jesus’ miracles: He healed the deaf, the blind, and the lame, brought dead children back to life. And so when trouble, tribulation and suffering come your way, the question to ask is not, Why, God? Rather the question is, Lord, what do you want to do about this? Ultimately our God wants to undo all of the suffering that comes to His children. And He will do this in the resurrection.

So the next time you hear someone blame God for all the in the world, remember: God does not push old ladies down church steps! Then tell them about Easter. It is a true story.

Pastor Kelly Mitteis