As many times as we try to answer this question, it never seems to lessen the blow of sudden loss or suffering. I wonder if part of the reason this question is so difficult to answer is because it assumes that there is some reason bad things happen at all, to anyone. That for some reason, God is causing bad things to happen and in the same breath claiming to love us. But if we look at the worst moments of life, we find that bad things happen to all people. Life simply happens, and there is no amount of good deeds that could shield us from the hard parts of life. This doesn’t necessarily mean that God doesn’t have a plan for us, or that there is no hope in the world. Maybe God’s plan for us is less about what happens to us and more about how we respond to it? Maybe there is hope in the thought that even the worst sinner can experience some joy in life? – Vicar Sharai Jacob
