It was while reading Phillip Yancey’s Where is God When it Hurts?, that my daughter (age 5) quickly said “right here” when asked the difficult question as posed by the title. Now, Phillip Yancey has another book, The Question That Never Goes Away, This last book, provides first hand reporting of the mega-disasters of our time as well as his own confrontation with pain and mortality.
The faithful answers to suffering and evil continue to challenge and paradoxically propel faith into action. We are called not just to tell the stories, but to be present with those who suffer. For Christians, we are also called to work for justice and peace. We believe that God’s love will overcome evil and suffering.
After a lifetime of experience that includes more than usual amount of suffering. my answer, like my daughters, is still “right here”. It is not a naive response. Like Yancey’s recent report, it is a response tested in the reality of a broken world. It is a question that will continue to test all of us. May we continue to see the presence of God in our lives and be that presence to those who suffer.
Marvin
References
Yancey, P. (1977). Where is God When It Hurts? Zondervan Publishing
Yancey, P. (2014). The Question That Never Goes Away. Zondervan.
Hage, M. L. (2011). Mega-disasters. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2011/03/mega-disasters.html
Hage, M. L. (2012). God’s Grace. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2012/10/gods-grace.html
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