The Question

Last month I decided that I was going to preach about Jesus turning the water into wine at the wedding in Cana this Sunday. I was going to preach about God's overflowing grace and goodness. Now I find the news dominated by pictures of suffering and devastation in Haiti. Where is God's overflowing grace and goodness in Haiti right now? How can I preach about that when we are inundated with images that seem to contradict it?

.

I can only begin to imagine the suffering that is taking place there. Even as aid pours into the country, it is not getting to all the people who so desperately need it. Even as donations set records, there are people dying of dehydration because they don't have access to water. I can't preach about God's overflowing grace and goodness without addressing the suffering we are witnessing via the television and internet.

.

Coming closer to home, how do I defend God's overflowing grace and goodness in the face of Daughter's suffering? She once asked me, "If God loves me, why did God allow me to be born into a family that was going to abuse me?" How do I defend God's grace and goodness to the people who have lost their jobs this week in the latest round of lay-offs by a major employer in Town?

.

I have these lines I repeat: "God always wins." "God doesn't promise us protection from trouble but God's presence through our troubles." Yet to an individual who has lost their entire family in an earthquake, those words must sound empty. To someone who is in danger of losing their home, or is wondering how they are going to feed their family, those words aren't much help.

.

Yet in spite of it all, I still believe in God's overwhelming grace and goodness. Even as we add one more diagnosis to Daughter's list of diagnoses, I still believe in God's overwhelming grace and goodness. Even as I watch the news stories from Haiti, I still believe in God's overwhelming grace and goodness. The question becomes, "How do I help my people believe in God's overwhelming grace and goodness in the midst of suffering and challenges?" Today I can't answer that question. It will be interesting to see where God leads me by Sunday morning.