I was once standing in line to get food at a truck stop. Behind me were two truck drivers and one said to the other something about the bad weather. For some reason the other felt compelled to make a comment about how church people would suffer like this and thus be considered by him to be stupid enough to believe there is a God. The other driver happened to be on the other end of the spectrum and told how many of his friends were Christians and they were happy and did not suffer from any lack he knew of. I moved on and got my food and left them to their discussion.
I have spent most of my lifetime - except that time during which I was teen age and stupid - contemplating Who God is and how I relate to Him. I don't think many people have an intelligent thought about Who God is in their lives. They are too busy to do so. All I am really sure of is that God did create all things. Otherwise I wouldn't be writing this.
Assuming there is a Creator, it stands to reason that He (She, It, They) is not governed by the rules of the universe (and whatever else) He created. Thus we are not necessarily equipped - naturally or otherwise - to be able to detect Him. We have our set of rules and our equipment and technology and are limited by them. Whatever God is we may not be aware of - thus the description of God as a Spirit can be true because we cannot see Him. Logic states that He must be at least as real as his creation is. Therefore whatever is real is his reality and ours may be somewhat less, perhaps a virtual reality to Him governed by his rules. All the scientific theory in the world is too limited to deal with this question.
So assuming there is a Creator, why do bad things happen? To me that's an easy question only because I have put so much thought into it. God created the world (the universe) and set all things in motion. There was the potential for plagues and tornadoes and murder. He left the rest of it to us. Most of the things people complain about were caused by man. How many of the natural disasters, though, might not have happened if we could control ourselves and stop fighting Him and turning our backs to Him can only be imagined. One thing leads to another and God only changes what He sees as needing repair. Cleaning up after us. He cannot be held responsible for what man has ultimately caused one way or another, although He is held guilty by many. That begins in the story of Adam and Eve where someone might complain that if there's a God, why do men have to work so hard to survive? This blames God for the actions of Adam and Eve. This is how shallow our thinking is.
The people the other driver was speaking of who were happy have discovered something the rest of us haven't. God gave us life and we should be grateful for it. It cost us absolutely nothing. The alternative is to be dead. I really don't think that it's asking too much that we be grateful to God and tell others that He gives us happiness. Going around whining about some little thing that you don't have in your life just doesn't appeal to me nor does it make any sense. Most of the people I know are unhappy because something is missing in their lives that they don't need. We have become an overwhelmingly materialistic people, crying about things that do nothing except distract us from what real, fulfilling life really is. Whining like small children for a piece of candy and throwing a tantrum if we don't get it. And is God supposed to be happy with that kind of behavior? All the while doing our best to avoid acknowledging Him or giving Him any of our time?
The human race, especially the richer countries like ours, need to back up and reassess their lives. We need to focus on the meaning of life - that life is a free gift and we are fools not to enjoy it.
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