117. Wala ka sa Lolo ko. As to why bad things happen to good people, for him, the Lord is the potter and we are the clay.

24 February 2021

Photo by samer daboul from Pexels

Why do bad things happen to good people?

1 Peter 3

Suffering for Doing Good

14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.”

15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

Yesterday when I posted the graphic and verses for today's blog, I got reactions. One saying she has also asked the same question many times, and one saying, on the other hand, there are no good people, all have sinned and fell short.

I thought I should have it rephrased, why do bad things happen to people who do the right things?

As you read along, it will again be rephrased, simply, why me?

Why had our dear Pastor Clem passed away in 2018 while his ministry had been blessing many families? I am a prime beneficiary of his counsel. I am sorry if mentioning this will cause tears to Ate Merlyn and the family.

There was a man who confronted bad news and he did not react, why me?

You may guess it's Job in the Old Testament. But this one is in our modern day.

This man, having experienced the sting of racism first-hand, felt a responsibility to fight it, at home and abroad. Whether it was speaking out for disadvantaged minorities, desperate Haitian refugees, or prisoners of conscience in South Africa, his support was global. His civil rights work became so well-known that Nelson Mandela, upon being released from prison, said that one of the first people he wanted to meet and thank was this great American.

He was then dying of AIDS which he got due to infected blood he received during heart surgery. Being well-known person, he received letters from world over, one saying, "Why does God have to select you for such a bad disease"?

To this, he replied:

“The world over — 50 million children start playing tennis, 5 million learn to play tennis,

500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals,

when I was holding a cup I never asked GOD ‘Why me?’. And today in pain I should not be asking GOD ‘Why me?’ ”

What gave this man, Arthur Ashe, his social conscience, and elevated him as a man, was something rarely recognized in tributes to him: his profound Christian faith.

Arthur Ashe (Copyright infringement not intended)

Although Arthur had been raised a Christian, he had grown wary of Christianity, for reasons explained by television producer Bob Briner, his close Evangelical friend: “He felt that many of the people who called themselves Christians were the very same ones who kept him from playing in many of the events important to his playing career.”

Yet, it was precisely within the tennis world, contending with one of his greatest competitors, Stan Smith, that Ashe’s Christian beliefs were reawakened. As Briner relates, Smith had become “a solid believer in the Lord Jesus;” and as he travelled the world with his on-court rival, Arthur was “able to get an up-close and personal look at Stan’s faith. What he found was consistency. If Stan won, he was gracious, and if he lost he was just as gracious. If it was the middle Sunday at Wimbledon and all the other players were resting for the grueling second week, Stan was speaking in some London church.”

Ashe learned a great deal about life and faith from Smith, and those lessons were put into action during his greatest trials.

After a heart attack cut short Ashe’s storied career, he never complained, but instead expressed thanks for all the blessings he had received: “If I were to say, ‘God, why me?’ about the bad things, then I should have said, ‘God, why me?’ about the good things that happened in my life.”

When his heart ailment was followed by the AIDS diagnosis, it was only natural that he turned to his fellow believers. As Briner writes, describing how he and Smith learned of their friend’s illness:

He hoped that Stan and I would give him a crash course in the Scriptures, pray for him, and share our faith with him. . . . Arthur’s faith and understanding grew tremendously. His confidence in the future, in an eternal future, manifested itself in many ways. . . .Arthur had assured me of his trust in Christ.

In my personal spiritual journey, when I went through midlife crisis over 5 years, when I had no money for the college of my children, I cannot remember if I did not utter, why me?

During the same period of my midlife crisis that my 2 daughters attended Ateneo with free tuition, I have to admit I did not come to the point of asking, why me, or why my 2 daughters?

I am sorry if you are disappointed with my answer to the topic question.

Honestly, we can only let go and let God.

My lesson in my midlife crisis, I learned to value life, to be expressive of gratitude and affection for love ones. I was able to hug my father and my mother after I recovered, years before they passed away; I did not grow up that way. I would have not probably become affectionate if I did not go through severe affliction.

Isaiah 55

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

    neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

9 As the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 64

8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father.

    We are the clay, you are the potter;

    we are all the work of your hand.

"Wala ka sa Lolo ko. As to why bad things happen to good people, for him, the Lord is the potter and we are the clay." This, one day my children's children will say.

May you be blessed with God's Word. Amen.

Maraming salamat.