Here is something else I wrote that deals with why bad things happen to good people.
The Green Moose
Resurrection Weekend (Easter) 2002
SO! There we were, driving back from Cedar Rapids after having the exhaust systems on both our car and our pick-up truck repaired; traveling southbound on I-380. Then, for no known reason, the truck I was driving stopped running. I coasted over to the side of the road and my wonderful wife Rita pulled up behind me in the car.
"I don't know what happened. It just stopped," I said as I got out of the truck and popped the hood.
After rummaging around for a while amongst all the wires, hoses, and caked on dirt and grease, I determined that a small piece inside the distributor cap had broken. Thinking we might yet have our beloved "Green Moose" (our large old green 4 door pick up truck) safely back in our driveway within an hour or two, we headed off to obtain the crucial component at a local auto parts store. Oh, if I had only known.
If any of you need to find an auto parts store in North Liberty, Iowa, don't bother. They don't exist [at the time of this writing]. So we drove on to Iowa City and obtained the vital device for our forlorn truck. Returning to the lonesome vehicle, I was thinking, "Gee, just a few more minutes and we can be on the road again." Oh, if I had only known.
Are you suspecting that my optimism may have been a bit misplaced? The part was clearly broken and had to be replaced before the truck would ever run. So, I replaced the part and it still didn't run! I took it all apart and put it all back together again. IT STILL DIDN'T RUN!
It is dark now and cold. Cars, trucks, and semis are whizzing by at 70 MPH and our beloved moose keeps rocking back and forth as I more and more anxiously try to determine the cause of the problem. Oh, if I had only known.
My question now is, “Do we have it towed home or is it something I can fix on my own?” Can I determine the cause of the problem and possibly return tomorrow with the additional needed part? How safe will the truck be out here over night? I finally determine that in one of those odd twists of fate, the fuel system is also malfunctioning.
I don't know if it is clogged because the truck is sitting at an odd angle, or if it is because the muffler guys did something wrong, or if my coasting such a distance caused the fuel pump to malfunction. I do know that there is nothing else I can possibly do with what I have. It is dark. It is cold. It is windy. I don't have any real tools with me. I am tired of climbing around on top of a dirty greasy engine compartment that is the size of a hot tub. The semis are still whizzing by at 70 MPH rocking the truck back and forth. And, due to my night shift work, I had been up for about 24 hours.
What could possibly happen to the truck overnight on the side of the road? The only thing I can think of is a drunk driver crashing into it, and I really don't consider that to be all that likely. So, instead of calling a tow truck, we decided to go home and come back tomorrow. OH! IF I HAD ONLY KNOWN!!!!
The next day, after an admittedly late start, I looked through the yellow pages for auto parts stores in Coralville. "Oh good!" I think, "There are three of them right down the road from us." Well, I thought there were three auto parts stores there in town. Are you surprised to learn we didn't find them? Nevertheless, with our customary resourcefulness and a little extra driving, we did locate a reputable auto parts establishment, obtained a few possibly needed parts, and returned to the scene of our neglected and twice forlorn, yet still beloved, big green moose.
I pull up behind it and think "Oh dear! What happened?”
Well, I'll tell you what happened. At least two people during the night stopped at our truck and used, perhaps a baseball bat, to destroy our windshield, the rear passenger door window, the rear window, and one of the side mirrors. They also kicked in the driver's door, which is now inoperable, and the left passenger door, which I haven't even tried yet. They left their footprints quite clearly on the side. One of them looked like a woman's footprint.
There is glass all over the place, inside and out. It appears they didn't steal anything. Now we have to have it towed. We call the highway patrol and a tow truck. The patrol officer says they have one car to cover a six county area and there is likely nothing they can do. The tow truck hitches up and then hauls our poor moosie home.
Would you be surprised if I told you that a mile from our house, the tow truck winch broke and dropped poor moosie flat on her feet in a most undignified manner? Would you be further surprised to learn that once moosie was again lifted by the tow truck, the driver told me to put her in neutral while he reached underneath to secure the safety chains? In utmost sincerity, that could have cost him his life. Once moosie was in neutral, the tow truck winch gave way again and it was only God's grace that allowed the guy to get out of the way in the slightest nick of time.
Well, moosie is home now. I got some plastic and duct tape and covered the windows. Insurance probably won't pay for anything. We have one vehicle between the two of us. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, my wonderful wife Rita is only working part time now.
All-in-all, I consider this a very irritating situation.
I hope you all had a better Resurrection weekend.
Returning home in the car with Rita and with the tow truck following us, I started wondering about the insanity of humans who will, for no other reason than maliciousness, destroy someone else's property. I tell you there were times when I felt like using their own baseball bat on the people who so damaged our truck. And there is also the question of why would God allow this to happen to us in the first place. Did we do something wrong to deserve this?
In the context of this being the weekend in which we celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of God's Son, I reflected on what God's Son must have experienced all those years ago. If the damage to my truck was unjust how much more unjust was Jesus' torture and murder? If I am angry because of the damage to my truck, how much more angry would God be for what we did to His Son?
Here was this man, this perfectly perfect, and infinitely innocent human being; this person who was also God in the flesh. He healed people. He taught people to love and forgive. He NEVER ever gave anyone any reason to dislike him. And yet, we humans tortured and murdered Him. Why?
And why did God allow it? Didn't God love His own Son, His ONLY Son, enough to keep Him from all that pain, humiliation and suffering? Didn't God have the power to keep it from happening? Why did God allow His One and Only Son to be tortured and murdered?
While riding home I wondered how I would have acted had it been me in place of Jesus during His trial, torture, and execution. Here I am this perfect human being (Remember, I'm just fantasizing. I really do know better.) and these religious hypocrites are accusing me of lying and heresy. They aren't interested in the truth. If they were, they would recognize who I am. They just don't want to lose any power over the people they are supposed to care for. So anyway, they sentence me to death, and through political pressure, manipulate the government to execute me.
You probably know that Jesus was pretty severely tortured before His death. Had it been me there and I had all the power of the Son of God, I would not have stood there quietly for very long. Long before they pressed the crown of thorns on my head, long before the soldiers started flogging me with that vicious whip, long before they started pulling my beard out by the roots, perhaps about the time one of my closest friends led a mob of soldiers against me, or perhaps when the religious leaders condemned me to die, I might have said something like, “I have spent the last three and a half years of my life trying to get through to you stupid humans and here you are wanting to kill me. You humans are not worth it. For all I care you can go to hell. I'm going back to Heaven to be with my Father.” And I might have called down fire from heaven to emphasize my point.
Then I asked myself, what kept Jesus from doing that? Why on earth would He willingly suffer all that abuse, pain, and torture?” What kept him on the cross?
Why do you think He did it?
And don't forget the question of why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Could not God have kept those evil people from ruining our truck? If so, why didn't He?
The same question applies to His Son: Could not God have prevented His dearly beloved Son from undergoing such a brutal torture and death at the hands of these senseless humans? Isn't protecting His one and only Son infinitely more important than protecting a 25 year old pickup truck from the &#@%!!! [nasty] people who damaged it? Why do bad things happen to good people?
Jesus sweat blood begging His Father to deliver him from the evil that was about to be done to him. If one of your children were sweating blood begging you to not let him or her be tortured and murdered, wouldn't you try to move Heaven and earth to prevent it?
Why did God allow so much evil to be done to His One and Only Son? Because there are some things that can only be created through fire. If there were any other way in all of creation and eternity that God could have accomplished our salvation, you can be sure he would have done so.
God knew it was necessary for Jesus to go through that fire in order to achieve what He did afterward. God the Father knew that Jesus was capable of bearing such a burden.
Do you get the impression that I would not have? In fact no other human being ever could have suffered that kind of torture and death without sinning.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Because there are some things that can only be accomplished in our lives by going through fires. But never forget that God knows how much we can bear, and He won't let too much happen to us.
The reason God allowed His Only Son to go through such torture and death is so we could know and enjoy Him forever. Our salvation could not have been accomplished any other way.
So what about all this truck business? It sure is annoying, but it's not more than my wife and I can bear. And God can use it for His glory. If nothing else, this story would never have been written without those $#%&@!!! people so severely abusing our poor moosie. The reason God allowed those $%#@^!!! people to wreck our truck was to help me, and perhaps others, to understand a tiny bit of why God allows bad things to happen to good people.
Earlier I asked what kept Jesus on the cross when he was so severely tortured and murdered? It was His love for you and me. The only way we could understand just how much He loves us was to show us what He was willing to do for us.
He wants to be with you right now. He is saying, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Ask Him to come into your heart and life right now and to be with you forever. He loves you enough right now to have died in your (and my) place so many years ago.
One more quick point, not only did Jesus die, but He also rose back to life. That means he currently, RIGHT NOW, has the power to help you pass through the fires you may be facing in your own life. He really does know what it is like to go through hell and back, and He wants to help you go through any private hell you may be facing. Ask Him into your life to help you with the fires you are going through today. He loves you THAT much (and more).
Don't find yourself the moment after your death thinking, “Oh, if I had only known.” Now you do.
Update - Oct 2011: We sold the truck last spring. After I tinkered with it a bit, the damage never made a difference in the operation of the truck. We spent a few hundred dollars to replace the glass. But, I assure you, if this little story helps one person accept God's Son, Messiah Jesus, as Savior and Lord, or understand God's plan for their lives better, then I am eternally grateful that God allowed us to experience such a tiny little trial as broken glass and bent metal to be used for His glory and honor.
And, that is the point of the whole story. Sometimes God allows bad things to happen to us because that is the only way some very good things can be accomplished in our lives and the lives of others.
God is not punishing you. He is trusting you to handle a difficult challenge by growing closer to Him and then reflecting Him to the world around you.
That is why bad things can happen to good people: the eternal value far outweighs the temporary stress and cost when you use it to draw closer to God through His Son, Messiah Jesus.
The Green Moose
Resurrection Weekend (Easter) 2002
SO! There we were, driving back from Cedar Rapids after having the exhaust systems on both our car and our pick-up truck repaired; traveling southbound on I-380. Then, for no known reason, the truck I was driving stopped running. I coasted over to the side of the road and my wonderful wife Rita pulled up behind me in the car.
"I don't know what happened. It just stopped," I said as I got out of the truck and popped the hood.
After rummaging around for a while amongst all the wires, hoses, and caked on dirt and grease, I determined that a small piece inside the distributor cap had broken. Thinking we might yet have our beloved "Green Moose" (our large old green 4 door pick up truck) safely back in our driveway within an hour or two, we headed off to obtain the crucial component at a local auto parts store. Oh, if I had only known.
If any of you need to find an auto parts store in North Liberty, Iowa, don't bother. They don't exist [at the time of this writing]. So we drove on to Iowa City and obtained the vital device for our forlorn truck. Returning to the lonesome vehicle, I was thinking, "Gee, just a few more minutes and we can be on the road again." Oh, if I had only known.
Are you suspecting that my optimism may have been a bit misplaced? The part was clearly broken and had to be replaced before the truck would ever run. So, I replaced the part and it still didn't run! I took it all apart and put it all back together again. IT STILL DIDN'T RUN!
It is dark now and cold. Cars, trucks, and semis are whizzing by at 70 MPH and our beloved moose keeps rocking back and forth as I more and more anxiously try to determine the cause of the problem. Oh, if I had only known.
My question now is, “Do we have it towed home or is it something I can fix on my own?” Can I determine the cause of the problem and possibly return tomorrow with the additional needed part? How safe will the truck be out here over night? I finally determine that in one of those odd twists of fate, the fuel system is also malfunctioning.
I don't know if it is clogged because the truck is sitting at an odd angle, or if it is because the muffler guys did something wrong, or if my coasting such a distance caused the fuel pump to malfunction. I do know that there is nothing else I can possibly do with what I have. It is dark. It is cold. It is windy. I don't have any real tools with me. I am tired of climbing around on top of a dirty greasy engine compartment that is the size of a hot tub. The semis are still whizzing by at 70 MPH rocking the truck back and forth. And, due to my night shift work, I had been up for about 24 hours.
What could possibly happen to the truck overnight on the side of the road? The only thing I can think of is a drunk driver crashing into it, and I really don't consider that to be all that likely. So, instead of calling a tow truck, we decided to go home and come back tomorrow. OH! IF I HAD ONLY KNOWN!!!!
The next day, after an admittedly late start, I looked through the yellow pages for auto parts stores in Coralville. "Oh good!" I think, "There are three of them right down the road from us." Well, I thought there were three auto parts stores there in town. Are you surprised to learn we didn't find them? Nevertheless, with our customary resourcefulness and a little extra driving, we did locate a reputable auto parts establishment, obtained a few possibly needed parts, and returned to the scene of our neglected and twice forlorn, yet still beloved, big green moose.
I pull up behind it and think "Oh dear! What happened?”
Well, I'll tell you what happened. At least two people during the night stopped at our truck and used, perhaps a baseball bat, to destroy our windshield, the rear passenger door window, the rear window, and one of the side mirrors. They also kicked in the driver's door, which is now inoperable, and the left passenger door, which I haven't even tried yet. They left their footprints quite clearly on the side. One of them looked like a woman's footprint.
There is glass all over the place, inside and out. It appears they didn't steal anything. Now we have to have it towed. We call the highway patrol and a tow truck. The patrol officer says they have one car to cover a six county area and there is likely nothing they can do. The tow truck hitches up and then hauls our poor moosie home.
Would you be surprised if I told you that a mile from our house, the tow truck winch broke and dropped poor moosie flat on her feet in a most undignified manner? Would you be further surprised to learn that once moosie was again lifted by the tow truck, the driver told me to put her in neutral while he reached underneath to secure the safety chains? In utmost sincerity, that could have cost him his life. Once moosie was in neutral, the tow truck winch gave way again and it was only God's grace that allowed the guy to get out of the way in the slightest nick of time.
Well, moosie is home now. I got some plastic and duct tape and covered the windows. Insurance probably won't pay for anything. We have one vehicle between the two of us. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, my wonderful wife Rita is only working part time now.
All-in-all, I consider this a very irritating situation.
I hope you all had a better Resurrection weekend.
Returning home in the car with Rita and with the tow truck following us, I started wondering about the insanity of humans who will, for no other reason than maliciousness, destroy someone else's property. I tell you there were times when I felt like using their own baseball bat on the people who so damaged our truck. And there is also the question of why would God allow this to happen to us in the first place. Did we do something wrong to deserve this?
In the context of this being the weekend in which we celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of God's Son, I reflected on what God's Son must have experienced all those years ago. If the damage to my truck was unjust how much more unjust was Jesus' torture and murder? If I am angry because of the damage to my truck, how much more angry would God be for what we did to His Son?
Here was this man, this perfectly perfect, and infinitely innocent human being; this person who was also God in the flesh. He healed people. He taught people to love and forgive. He NEVER ever gave anyone any reason to dislike him. And yet, we humans tortured and murdered Him. Why?
And why did God allow it? Didn't God love His own Son, His ONLY Son, enough to keep Him from all that pain, humiliation and suffering? Didn't God have the power to keep it from happening? Why did God allow His One and Only Son to be tortured and murdered?
While riding home I wondered how I would have acted had it been me in place of Jesus during His trial, torture, and execution. Here I am this perfect human being (Remember, I'm just fantasizing. I really do know better.) and these religious hypocrites are accusing me of lying and heresy. They aren't interested in the truth. If they were, they would recognize who I am. They just don't want to lose any power over the people they are supposed to care for. So anyway, they sentence me to death, and through political pressure, manipulate the government to execute me.
You probably know that Jesus was pretty severely tortured before His death. Had it been me there and I had all the power of the Son of God, I would not have stood there quietly for very long. Long before they pressed the crown of thorns on my head, long before the soldiers started flogging me with that vicious whip, long before they started pulling my beard out by the roots, perhaps about the time one of my closest friends led a mob of soldiers against me, or perhaps when the religious leaders condemned me to die, I might have said something like, “I have spent the last three and a half years of my life trying to get through to you stupid humans and here you are wanting to kill me. You humans are not worth it. For all I care you can go to hell. I'm going back to Heaven to be with my Father.” And I might have called down fire from heaven to emphasize my point.
Then I asked myself, what kept Jesus from doing that? Why on earth would He willingly suffer all that abuse, pain, and torture?” What kept him on the cross?
Why do you think He did it?
And don't forget the question of why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Could not God have kept those evil people from ruining our truck? If so, why didn't He?
The same question applies to His Son: Could not God have prevented His dearly beloved Son from undergoing such a brutal torture and death at the hands of these senseless humans? Isn't protecting His one and only Son infinitely more important than protecting a 25 year old pickup truck from the &#@%!!! [nasty] people who damaged it? Why do bad things happen to good people?
Jesus sweat blood begging His Father to deliver him from the evil that was about to be done to him. If one of your children were sweating blood begging you to not let him or her be tortured and murdered, wouldn't you try to move Heaven and earth to prevent it?
Why did God allow so much evil to be done to His One and Only Son? Because there are some things that can only be created through fire. If there were any other way in all of creation and eternity that God could have accomplished our salvation, you can be sure he would have done so.
God knew it was necessary for Jesus to go through that fire in order to achieve what He did afterward. God the Father knew that Jesus was capable of bearing such a burden.
Do you get the impression that I would not have? In fact no other human being ever could have suffered that kind of torture and death without sinning.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Because there are some things that can only be accomplished in our lives by going through fires. But never forget that God knows how much we can bear, and He won't let too much happen to us.
The reason God allowed His Only Son to go through such torture and death is so we could know and enjoy Him forever. Our salvation could not have been accomplished any other way.
So what about all this truck business? It sure is annoying, but it's not more than my wife and I can bear. And God can use it for His glory. If nothing else, this story would never have been written without those $#%&@!!! people so severely abusing our poor moosie. The reason God allowed those $%#@^!!! people to wreck our truck was to help me, and perhaps others, to understand a tiny bit of why God allows bad things to happen to good people.
Earlier I asked what kept Jesus on the cross when he was so severely tortured and murdered? It was His love for you and me. The only way we could understand just how much He loves us was to show us what He was willing to do for us.
He wants to be with you right now. He is saying, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Ask Him to come into your heart and life right now and to be with you forever. He loves you enough right now to have died in your (and my) place so many years ago.
One more quick point, not only did Jesus die, but He also rose back to life. That means he currently, RIGHT NOW, has the power to help you pass through the fires you may be facing in your own life. He really does know what it is like to go through hell and back, and He wants to help you go through any private hell you may be facing. Ask Him into your life to help you with the fires you are going through today. He loves you THAT much (and more).
Don't find yourself the moment after your death thinking, “Oh, if I had only known.” Now you do.
Update - Oct 2011: We sold the truck last spring. After I tinkered with it a bit, the damage never made a difference in the operation of the truck. We spent a few hundred dollars to replace the glass. But, I assure you, if this little story helps one person accept God's Son, Messiah Jesus, as Savior and Lord, or understand God's plan for their lives better, then I am eternally grateful that God allowed us to experience such a tiny little trial as broken glass and bent metal to be used for His glory and honor.
And, that is the point of the whole story. Sometimes God allows bad things to happen to us because that is the only way some very good things can be accomplished in our lives and the lives of others.
God is not punishing you. He is trusting you to handle a difficult challenge by growing closer to Him and then reflecting Him to the world around you.
That is why bad things can happen to good people: the eternal value far outweighs the temporary stress and cost when you use it to draw closer to God through His Son, Messiah Jesus.
