From Charlie Gray

I often hear the question: “Why do bad things happen to good people”? I’m OK with the question and understand the reasoning behind such a ponderance. Let me suggest that “good” is a very subjective determination. We all consider certain people as “bad”. Maybe Charles Manson or Timothy McVeigh immediately come to mind. Mother Teresa or Nelson Mandela might be on your list for “good” folks. Jesus tops that list for me.It’s difficult to love people who demonstrate behavior contrary to what we believe to be good. That commandment to love your enemies is a darn tough one. Genesis 1:27 kinda brings us back to reality reminding us that we ALL are created in the image of God. In that sense, we ALL are “good”. Yes, we ALL are born with that “equal opportunity” to live our lives in accordance with following Jesus but the nature of the world intervenes. We ALL have tasted that forbidden fruit. We ALL have fallen short of the expectations of our Creator. Probably wouldn’t see Jesus driving around with a bumper sticker on His car declaring: “MY CHILD IS AN HONOR STUDENT IN THE GAME OF LIFE”. Just a reminder of the irony of our judgemental nature especially if there is a mirror in the room. It is hard to love bad people and difficult to forgive those who have wronged us BUT we must find a way to do so. We are reminded in Matthew that God causes the sun to rise on both the good and evil and sends rain on both the righteous and wicked. The first step is to realize that we ALL are children of God. Our responsibilities in this challenge have eternal consequences.