Over the years I have gotten so many letters and e-
mails of appreciation for these simple stories I write.
These letters always warm my heart. Once in a
while, however, I get a letter from hurting soul who
is angry with both God and life. I got one of these
the other day. The man wrote: "If God truly does love
us then how can He allow the poor to suffer,
children to starve, and the homeless to die in the
street? How can He allow so much war, cruelty, and
violence in this world?" I looked at the letter for a
long time and then wrote this back to him: "God
doesn't allow this. We do."
There is more than enough food in this world to fill
every child's stomach. There is more than enough
wealth in this world to give everyone a home where
they can feel safe. There is more than enough love
in this world to overcome cruelty, violence, and war.
Yet, we hoard, fear, and steal. We seek power
instead of love. We close our homes, our hands, and
our hearts. We shut ourselves off and refuse to see
that everyone is our brother and sister.
Perhaps our problem is that we don't look at this
world through the eyes of eternity. We don't see that
a better home and happier life awaits us after this
one. We don't see the love of God within us. Instead
we chase after the things of this world. We don't see
that in eternity's eyes all the wealth and power in
the universe isn't worth a bucket of spit. We don't
see that in the next life we won't be judged by our
fame and accomplishments. We will be judged by
the good we did, the people we helped, and the love
we shared.
I pray that all of those hurting souls out there will
find their way back to faith, love, and life. I pray that
every one of us will feel just how much God loves
us and realize just how much we can love as well. I
pray that all of us will one day see this life through
eternity's eyes.
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