Getting Mad at God

Another close friend has cancer. How can I make sense of it?

Somebody let me know recently (after reading one of my blogs) that "I should never be angry with God." Actually I don't blame God for the cancer.

I don't believe that God causes terrible things to happen to us or to the people we love.

We've found the cure for so many diseases. Some day we'll find the cure for all cancers. Because it's already here - we just haven't found it yet. We're too busy doing other things.

I think I get angry with God in 2 ways:

1. When, like Mother Teresa, I can't find God for a time. It's the loneliest feeling in the world.

2. When God speaks to me and I don't want to hear it.

For instance, a while back there was a little five minute skit in my church service just before the sermon. This great looking woman was standing next to a table with beautiful place settings, candles, etc.

She sort of rambled on about how the kids were gone so she and her husband could have sophisticated dinner parties with the beautiful people.

And I was thinking, Yeah, that sounds good to me.

Then a homeless (looking) man stood up and said, "Can I sit at your table?"

Then a young, strange looking couple came up the aisle and said, "Can we sit at your table?"

And they kept coming. Old, sick, smelly, young, scary - they all wanted to sit at this woman's beautifully set table.

Did I get the message from this little five minute skit? Yes.

Did I like it? No.

I think my problem is that I want to be comforted but I don't want to be reminded that I live in a world full of pain.