GOD is Responsible?

God is responsible for all that happens in our life, right? This is often the assumption behind the question, "why would my ... die early?" Why would people not live longer? Why do young people die and leave heartbroken parents to deal with the loss? Why should my sister/brother die of cancer? Why did God take my mother early? God's responsibility generates all kinds of questions. When it comes to human beings and their longevity, could God have made it so that people live much longer? This is a difficult topic to handle especially if one has had the experience of burying a young family member, a husband or wife who did not live to a ripe old age. More so, it becomes even more touching if one's family member died suddenly, or from illness at a young age.

Granted that people living longer will minimize the grief of burying someoone young and maybe, give more people the opportunity to live and see many generations within their family, the reality is far from this. To try and dabble into this, we need to look at the purpose of creation from the Judeo-Christian perspective. In the book of Genesis God said, "Let us make humans after our own image and likeness... Then God made them, male and female he made them..." God gave them the injunction to increase and multiply. Then Adam and Eve lost the privilege of being in the Garden of Eden. The rest is our history of salvation and the journey to return to the ideal of the place whhere all will live in peace and joy. The choice of our first ancestors led to the initial loss of the place of innocence. So, God's unselfish desire to share himself led to the creation of our first ancestors. Would he have craeted them so that they may die early? Not really. However, the initial choice led to the loss of the privileges of Eden.

What if people could live for ever on earth? Theologically, there will be no need for heaven. The other thing is that the material resources may be quite scarce by now. The human body is also made to start losing its abilities and start declining after certain number of years. While this is a speculation, the possibility of this crosses our minds once in a while.

So, is God responsible for the death of my loved one? When illness occurs, who is responsible? God is in charge of all of human affairs! However, with the freedom we have, the choices we make and/or others make for us may lead to inevitable ends. The human body and indeed all of creation is an intricate and complex masterpiece of God. Consider for instance, how the human brain which controls the movements and thought processes function. To the general population, it looks like a blob of tissues with specialized functions, but to the scientific eyes, it is a very complex and highly efficient body of cells that make all kinds of connections and sensory perceptions leading to different motor reactions. Think of the human torso and the precious organs it protects. Imagine how all these organs work in harmony to keep us alive. Now, what happens when these functions cease, either suddenly or gradually? Death occurs!

Realistically speaking, some deaths could have been prevented, for instance, death from drunk driving if the drunk person made the choice not to drive after drinking, death from unecessary accident if the individual made the choice to not go to the place where the preventable accident occurs, for instance, young people avoiding going for a fight, or avoiding playing in a field during thunder and lightening. On the other hand, there are deaths which could be prevented but the individual has no control over it, for instance, when a person eats contaminated food without knowing - bacterial or viral infection. There is also death from preventable illnesses. There is death due to old age and death due to neglect. In essence, there are certain external and internal factors affecting life expectancy, health/death.

Apart from these, when illness or death occurs, can we question God? Looking at it from the New Testament perspective, yes and no. The reason why this seems contradictory is that it depends on how one sees questioning God. Looking at it from the Passion of Christ, one can see that there were moments when he asked God a very serious question. Though Christ knew his mission and understood what it entails (see also the Transfiguration), he still prayed in the Garden for the cup to be taken away from him. While on the cross, in his human nature he was probably feeling alone and abandoned, and that is why he cried out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" When we read this passage, we often read it in a mellowed voice but it was a shout oof frustration. Imagine how you would speak to a person whom you trusted and who did not grant you what you humanly wanted, that is probably the way Christ spoke to God at that point. However he also recognizes that God does not abandon his own, and says, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." So, can one question God? In time of extreme suffering or distress, one has the tendency to question God. However, it is important to look at all the factors surrounding what is happening to the individual. Sometimes, it is much easier to lay blames on others rather than look at the reality.

Christ's purpose for coming as one of us is to die in order to redeem us from the power of the consequences of our first ancestors' mistake. What about the one's who came to live for as long as they can but unfortunately die young? The answer may be in the choices being made for us trough the generations. What if there are no pollutions in our skies, food, water, materials we use and lawns? What if people could live in harmony and enjoy each other's company without fighting over all kinds of trivial matters? What if humans are able to respect each other and make the earth a ppeaceful place? What if all human stressors no longer exist and people can enjoy the sunshine (with lots of sunscreen), the rain, the warmth of summer, and the cool winter breeze? This would be an ideal situation, and could lead to humans living longer and a drastic reduction in the number of illnesses and death. Research shows that stress, lack of rest, lack of proper nutrition, inadequate amount of liquid intake, and pollution in food and air are responsible for most illnesses.

When people struggle with illness, death or other difficult situations, this could lead to asking questions of God. Personally I asked the same kind of question when my father died suddenly from heartattack while I was on the phone with him. My initial reaction was to ask God the question, "WHY?" I soon thought about it and realized that there were laws that controlled what happens in the human body. Unfortunately, most of us do not pay much attention or in some cases ignore them entirely even when we know the consequences of such action. My father's situation is probably one of such. While none of us knew that he may have had heart problems, he could be dismissing it as nothing more than a strained muscle around the heart or other things. He may not even have known that he had any issue with his arteries. This does not excuse him from the consequences of what happens to people with such problems - atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. That he probably did not know he had the illness does not excuse the laws guiding the effects on the human body. So, should we question God at this situation? Probably not. We accept it and then see what can be done to avoid such happening again. There are ways to avoid such early and untimely death.

I want to note that God is responsible but we are also responsible. God's responsibility is to put laws in nature to help us live happily and survive different situations on earth. However, we or others sometimes make choices that affect us either positively or negatively. It is our responsibility to try to understand the laws guiding creation, the human body, and our relationship with one another and God. Respecting these laws may help us live longer and avoid some unfortunate situations.

Please let me know your reaction to this.