“Why did God allow this to happen?”

Yeah, it’s a dreaded question for me, or at least has been. That is a tough question to answer when talking with a friend who is suffering.

While hunting recently I had a long opportunity to ponder. One of the things I like about hunting is that it gives me a lot of time to think and reflect on God while in nature. (For the record, I was bow hunting.) Sitting there, still, my thoughts returned to above question and ideas about God seemed to fall into place for my answer.

God allows everything to happen. God allows your heart to beat, your lungs to breathe. God allows children to laugh and grow. God allows life He created to exist. God also, through infinite love, allows sin. This sin, the separation from God, is what causes the pain, the suffering, the loss.

So yes, God does allow our situations, but did not intend for us to experience pain – that was and is our own choice. 

I recently saw this commercial again and think I left out one of the most troubling parts – the ending. The tag at the end of the spot says, “Chase what matters.”

I want it all, I want it all, and I want it right now is the theme music behind a new credit card commercial I just on TV.
Yep, 8:03 pm on a Saturday night and I’m sitting at home watching TV and blogging. In my defense, I just put my 17-month old son to bed and my wife is out of town at a funeral, but I’m afraid those two factors may not have contributed much to the previous sentence.
Back on track…In the commercial the wife says to the husband, “You’re right, we need a new TV.” At that moment the husband runs out of the house with his credit card and cell phone. The point of the commercial is that one can have his/her credit card balance texted to them “so you know how much to spent,” so says the ad spot.
I understand wanting things and immediate gratification…I just bought a new set of golf clubs two weeks ago. However, I didn’t check my credit card balance, I checked my bank account and planned budget. I paid cash for the new set of irons. To base what you can “afford” on how much is left until your credit card is maxed out is not the way to purchase luxury items. Yes, TV is a luxury item. It’s not a smart way to buy anything, but sometimes it is necessary.
I don’t know, maybe this commercial just summed up common culture too much and made me write this.

In my opinion, it has been a long time coming for Baptists, a predominant denomination in America, to stand up for some social issued and begin to bring about change. Many of the issues discussed at the New Baptist Covenant Celebration are aspects of life that many churches apparently view as “too impolite” to discuss amongst themselves.
Whatever your opinion of former President Jimmy Carter and former President Bill Clinton, points they made in their addresses to the NBC attendees need to be echoed in churches across the nation and around the world. As yet another democrat (Barack Obama) said, “We don’t have to agree on everything to come together to bring about change.”
No matter what our differences, Christians can respond to criticism and need with love. 
No matter what our differences, Christians can be unified to end social injustices.
The person caught in sex trade, extreme poverty, repeat incarceration and in need of help do not care if you are a Conservative Baptist, Moderate Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Catholic or Church of Christ – they just need help. What we should care about is when we help; they see Christ’s love for them.

My coworkers and I talked about these new Christian toys earlier in the week. A news story this evening on ABC said that Wal-Mart is going to start selling these along with their other religious material, especially books.
My mind isn’t made up on these yet. My son has a Noah’s Ark toy that he enjoys. I’ve had religious toys in the past. I’ve never worn or owned a shirt that has Jesus or God on it. I’m not against my Christianity, just for me, my savior’s name doesn’t belong on a shirt.
What I have to get past is making a deity a doll. To me it just seems strange. What makes it even more strange is that these action figures talk. I believe they mostly quote scripture.
What I do like about these toys is the fact that kids can learn Bible stories and such through playing with them. I would love for my son to emulate Jesus at play to learn to emulate Jesus through life. However, as with most boys I’ve seen play, it wouldn’t be long before toy Jesus would end up on a battlefield, run over by a tank or strapped to a rocket.
Does this diminish Jesus? Does this teach about Jesus’ life?
So, for me, I’m still undecided about the toy Jesus.
Any insight for me?