The Trilogy:  Part 1 of 3

The Foundation: Why God Operates the Way He Does

The Big Question: If God is all-loving and all-powerful, why does He allow us to experience pain, struggle, and confusion?

To understand what God is doing, we have to stop looking at life through our own eyes and start looking through the lens of a parent-child relationship.

God calls Himself our Father. He designed the human experience of parenting—with all its wisdom, protection, and “tough love”—as a living blueprint to help us understand how He is interacting with us today.  For some of you, the father figure was not a good one.  If so, hopefully you have a mother, coach, friend, grandparent, etc. that you can substitute in this picture.

The Picture: A Lesson in Character

Imagine a 6-year-old who spends every bit of their allowance the first they get it after receiving it. The parent constantly encourages the child to save some, but the child doesn’t listen.

Then, the day arrives: The child finds something they really want, but they have no money saved.

The parent could step in, rescue the child, and pay for the item. But the parent knows that saving the child from this disappointment would also block them from the much needed character lesson. So, the parent lets the “tough love” play out. The child is sad and frustrated, but the parent is looking at the child’s entire life—not just this brief few days.

The child who listens and saves benefits both now (could buy the toy) and later (ability to manage finances as an adult). In the same way, God’s wise counsel is given for our good—not simply for this time on earth, but also for our entire eternal life.

The Big Picture: Our Life on Earth

Put yourself in the place of that child. You might look at your own life and wonder, “Why doesn’t God rescue me from this pain? Why is He allowing this to happen?”

The truth is: You are entirely focused on the “now” (this time on earth), but God is focused on your overall eternal life and the character traits that lead to your ultimate flourishing.

• This world is a training ground, not a destination. Just like the 6-year-old, we are learning lessons that shape our eternal character so we can live purposeful, rewarding lives. God is not causing our problems, we are doing that.
• A wise parent guides with both consequences and blessings. The loving and wise parent comes alongside the child to help them understand when there are consequences for poor choices and blessings for good choices. The more the child listens, the more they learn to trust their parent even when they do not yet understand.
• God isn’t looking to fix everything that goes wrong. He is helping you to make better decisions now and also preparing you for an eternal future. The more we seek, listen and trust, the more purposeful and rewarding life we will have now and in eternity.
• In the end, the child must decide if they will trust their loving and wise parent — even when they don’t understand.  They need to have faith that listening to and trusting their parent will turn out better for them.  That is the decision we must also make.

What Does This Mean for You?

If you feel like you aren’t “good enough,” or you’re afraid you will fail, take a breath.

A loving parent doesn’t love their child only when they are perfect. They love them through the messy process of growing up. God knows you will fail at times. He knew that before He created you, and He loves you anyway. He isn’t asking for perfection; He is inviting you into a relationship where He can guide you through the growth you need.

Read The Trilogy:  Part 2 “Big picture of what is God doing”
Read The Trilogy:  Part 3 “Heaven:  Greatly misunderstood”
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Bible references:

• Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. 
• 2 Peter 1:5-8:  For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.