Click on the SOUND Icon below to hear Dr. Jay Hodges powerful and moving sermon "God's Trombones" . Four sermons actually, origionally composed by James Weldon Johnson: Creation, Go Down Death, The Prodigal Son, The Crucifixion.

James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871 � June 26, 1938) was an American author, politician, diplomat, critic, journalist, poet, anthologist, educator, lawyer, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. CLICK the picture to link to the book "God's Trombones".

Is God Good All the Time?

            I did the funeral for a little baby born dead. Like all parents, the mother and dad were so excited about the birth of their child, but something happened in the last month, and the child died in the mother's womb. Something about that didn't seem right; why would God allow something like that to happen?

            This week I read a plea from a church in another state which is still trying to help with the crisis in Haiti. For those who remember, the earthquake devastated the capital and children were separated from their parents and left in the streets. Parents lost children in the quake, and children lost parents. Why would God allow this to happen?

            When there are disasters that happen in our world, we wonder about why God allows terrible things to happen. Hurricanes destroy communities and peoples homes are blown completely away. Tornadoes rip through a town and homes are destroyed. Volcanoes erupt and lava sweeps through a town destroying everything there. Why does God let all these things happen if God is so good?

            On a more personal level, we have all known tragedy of some kind in our families or to close friends. I had a nephew who died tragically when he was 18, and I raged with God about why God let that happen when there were so many possibilities that he could have been saved. Where was God when we needed Him? Why does God allow brilliant people who mean so much to us end their lives suffering with Alzheimers or some dread cancer? If God is so good, how can God allow children to starve to death when there is abundant food for the world?

            I'm going to address this with two articles, the second of which will be what I call my Bicycle Theology. It is a way that helps me understand something of why there is suffering in the world when we worship a God we think of as being ultimately good.

            There are simply things that happen that don't make sense, and to me, saying we live in an imperfect world doesn't help me much at all. What I have to ask, though, if I want to be angry that God lets bad things happen, is, How much control over my life do I want God to have? How much am I willing to surrender so that I am protected from every suffering?

            Suppose some parents have a child, and they decide they want to raise the child in an environment that is completely safe, a place where the child will never know any kind of hurt physically or emotionally. Of course, they would have to keep the child in a special room where the walls and floors were soft so the child wouldn't be hurt if he/she fell. The toys the child could be given would have to be limited to those that were soft. They couldn't be given a toy that could bruise them or a toy they could put in their mouth and choke on.

            Also, to protect the child against any emotional damage, they would have to keep the child from having any friends. All of us can remember a time when a friend said something painful to us or when we got in an argument with a friend and it might have escalated into a real fight. I fought with all my friends growing up and I got my share of black eyes and bruises! So the parents couldn't risk another child saying something hurtful or doing something hurtful to their child, and they would keep the child away from others.

            Does that sound like good parenting? If you knew someone who was doing just those things in an attempt to protect their child, we would probably call the police, wouldn't we? While they would be making what seemed a good attempt to protect their child, in truth they would be doing the child terrible harm. No one needs to be protected that much!

            Which leads me to my Bicycle Theology, and I will share that with you in the next article.

                                                                        Jayhodges610@yahoo.com

A Bicycle Theology 

            Last time I wrote about why God allows bad things to happen to good people, and a question I asked was, How much control do you want God to have over your life so you don't suffer?       

            So, let me ask this question this time: Did you have a bicycle when you were a kid? And did you fall off the bicycle and get hurt? Maybe a skinned elbow or a skinned knee, or possibly a broken arm? Anyone who rides a bicycle for long will probably fall off it and get hurt.

            Then did you give your children a bicycle? You did? Even knowing that they will very probably fall and get hurt, you gave them a bicycle anyway? What kind of cruel parent are you, anyway?

            Yes, I gave my daughters bicycles. I remember teaching them to ride. We had a big front yard, and I would hold the bike (I didn't use training wheels for them) and run alongside the bicycle, holding it up and allowing them to find their balance. After a few attempts, I would run alongside and would let go without my girls knowing I let go. Finally they would be riding on their own, even though they might fall in the beginning. At least they would fall on the soft grass of our yard.

            But then the time came when my first daughter took her bicycle into the street, and she rode down the hill in front of our house, turned the corner, and pedaled out of my sight. My heart froze in my chest right then, because I was no longer in control. I could not call out to her, Watch out for cars at intersections, or Slow down, you are going too fast!

            When she was out of my sight, I could not protect her, could not keep her from getting hurt. There was the very real feeling that if I kept her only in our yard she would be safe from harm, but then, she would not be able to explore her world and broaden her horizons. She would never develop into the full human being I dreamed she would be.

            God could keep us from hurt and from all suffering, but it would mean that we would not be allowed to develop into full human beings. While I dreaded the time my daughters would fall from their bikes and both of them did and hurt themselves, I knew that their suffering would be temporary and they would continue to ride.

            Today, both of them ride long distances and explore new places on their bicycles, risking the dangers of someone running a stop sign or someone swerving and hitting them. They know those dangers are there, but they are wailing to risk that possible suffering for the joy of riding and exploring.

            I do not believe God causes suffering we bring most of our suffering on ourselves by bad choices, foolishness or ignorance. But I do believe that God is with us through our suffering, bringing comfort like a mother who kisses a boo boo on her child. There is nothing very healing about the kiss, but there is great comfort in the caring.

            I believe God suffers with us when we suffer, but to keep us from all pain would be to hinder us, cripple us like the parents I mentioned last time who would keep a child in a room away from most toys and all people. That would cripple the development of the child.

            The Apostle Paul, in Romans 5: 3 and 4 says, Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. I will tell you now that there are types of suffering that do not make sense to me, but those who endure will usually tell you that they are stronger for it.

            So, ride your bicycle as you live your life. Suffering will come, but it shapes us into strong men and women through the grace of God.

                                                                                    Jayhodges610@yahoo.com