Originally posted as a facebook note 1/6/11 - I had the most faith-filled conversation with Wesley on the way to school this morning. He has such a gift of seeing the deeper things of God.
We were talking about a friend who was in a car accident and lived, and how I bristle at people saying "God protected her" or "God was with her". That may be true, but it brings up the question of "Where was God when Max had his accident"? Why didn't God protect Max? I have wrestled with this before - why does one live and another die?
Wesley's answer? God's plan - His purposes. He wanted growth through one surviving an accident ... and growth for others through one not surviving an accident. Believing that the one who did not survive was finished with the purpose God put him on earth, his time was "up". It's not that God didn't protect Max or wasn't with him - oh He was there for sure! This answer would apply to any life, no matter how many minutes or years that life was ... God can use that life or that death for His Glory.
Of course, this doesn't diminish how much we miss Max or the pain we feel being separated from him!! But we trust God's plan and purposes for us all. I believe that suffering can be wasted or used for eternal purposes, and I surely want to cooperate and make sure my suffering is used for eternity. This earth and everything about it passes away, but what we lay up in heaven will last.
Thank you, Wesley, for that little bit of acceptance this morning on the five-month anniversary of Max's death. Thank you, Lord, for the hope of eternity through your son, Jesus.
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