Bulletproof

Hi, all

Being a former believer,  I have family members - both close relatives, as well as distant relatives - who are still devout Christians. And of course, individuals from both groups are on Facebook, and so, the other day I happened upon something in my news feed, and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it, but it was something that I would've bought into back in my Christian days. It was the following parable, which is essentially an apologetic that attempts to reconcile why bad things happen to people, including devout believers, who, presumbly, are God's very own disciples. It goes like this....


Me: God, can I ask You a question?

God: Sure

Me: Promise You won't get mad

God: I promise

Me: Why did You let so much stuff happen to me today?

God: What do u mean?

Me: Well, I woke up late

God: Yes

Me: My car took forever to start

God: Okay

Me: at lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait

God: Huummm

Me: On the way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call

God: All right

Me: And on top of it all off, when I got home ~I just want to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax. BUT it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did You do that?

God: Let me see, the death angel was at your bed this morning & I had to send one of My Angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that

Me (humbled): OH

GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.

Me: (ashamed)

God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick & I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.

Me (embarrassed):Okay

God: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered.

Me (softly): I see God

God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a shortage that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.

Me: I'm Sorry God

God: Don't be sorry, just learn to Trust Me.... in All things , the Good & the bad.

Me: I will trust You.

God: And don't doubt that My plan for your day is Always Better than your plan.

Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, Thank You for Everything today.

God: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I Love looking after My Children...

Now, if you are outside of the Christian bubble looking in, it is pretty easy to see what is happening here. Basically, the author is trying to sell us on the idea that there are good reasons why we struggle and suffer, reasons that we might not understand at the time. While the excuses that "God" proceeds to lay out above may satisfy the person in the above illustration - for instance,"God" didn't let the person's car start because there was a drunk driver enroute who would have hit him/her -  the fact is that hundreds if not thousands of people still get hit by drunk drivers daily, often times maiming or even killing the victim, and this includes Christians. 

 If  "God's Plan" is always, without fail, the ideal, "right" thing - from the most trivial setback(e.g..a stalled car) to the most despicable outcome(e.g..a person dies in a deadly DUI wreck) - then the believer is forced to believe and accept that there is a "higher" reason for whatever happens, mind you, one that they might not agree with or understand, but still, one that he or she believes is ultimately "good" and for the best. IOW, if, next week, the person in the above illustration gets in his or her car and it cranks right up, and then about halfway to work a drunk man runs a red light, T-boning the driver's side of the car and subsequently killing the driver, believers will still be feeling "blessed" and praising "God". IOW, they will view it as "God" intended it, and view it as a "win", saying things like, "God needed him/her more than we did", or, "God has called him home!"  

It appears that Christian's have created a "God" who is bulletproof.. There was a time when I said and thought those same things when people died, but today I just feel sad when I hear these things.