One question I have been asked is how can I believe in a God that allows these kinds of tragedies? How can I serve A God who allows bombings happen to innocent people? Many who ask me this question ask me from the perspective that God is at fault for such tragedies. Would you be surprised if I said that many people blame God for things such as the most recent (Manchester) bombing that took place? Often when there is no apparent reason many people shift the blame to God.
I remember seeing the church killing (South Carolina) on the news a while ago. The young man who went into the church, sat through Bible study and then killed everyone who was in attendance. This terrible tragedy sure shook the faith of many. I personally was upset for various reasons and I must admit my faith was shook also. How could God allow such tragedy? How could I continue serving a God who would allow this? At the time I didn’t understand.
I had to pray and seek God because I was honestly having emotional issues about it. After all, it could’ve happened at my church, or even my mom’s church. My answer came from me understanding that while God is in control, He does not force us to do or not do anything that we want to do. He allows things because we allow things. Everyone knows right from wrong. Most people know that it’s wrong to lie cheat and/or steal but many of us engage in one or more of these activities daily. If I was going to ask God why did He allow one sin, I would have to ask God why does He allow all sin. Different sins do effect us in different ways, but the truth is that all of it is sin to God.
God brought me to the level understanding that if I was going to ask Him stop senseless murder then I would have to ask Him to put an end to cheating and lying as well. I would be asking God to not allow any sin that would allow one person to take advantage of another person (which, as we know, happens every day). God won’t do that because it becomes a matter of restricting free will. God does not force us to live as He commands us to live. He doesn’t make you tell the truth when you’re about to lie because that would be taking away your free will.
At the end of the matter the conclusion is a difficult truth: God is not to blame for the things we as humans do, we are. We can’t hold God accountable for human actions. It is not God’s fault that there are people who lie, cheat, steal, and kill in our world. God wants us all to live in harmony with each other but we can’t seem to get it right. If the world was as God intended there would be no such sin committed against another human being, but as we all know, our world is not as God intended. We can only pray that God protect us and our families as we go about our daily lives. Life can be taken from us in an instant as well as anyone in our family. This knowledge is the reason many people express a need for God as opposed to a life without Him. Thank God for His grace, His mercy, and His protection because we never know where danger is. I pray for all the families effected by the bombings & Let us pray that God put an end to all the senseless killings that plague our world.