Beautiful Quote

“God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future – to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities. God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if you don’t pray, and He can’t if you don’t dream. In short, He can’t if you don’t believe.” – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

God's Love

At church yesterday, I was enlightened by someone who was giving a talk about a tragic event that took place in our community last week.  A local dermatoligist, his P.A. and many of his nurses and office staff travel to rural areas by private plane once a month to offer a clinic and their services to those unable to pay.  Including the pilot, there were 10 souls on that plane last week when it crashed and left no survivors, heading home from one such trip.  Why would a just God, a loving God allow this to happen to such amazing people who freely give of themselves to help others?  To establish balance in the Universe?  To try our faith?  To condemn some because of some sin?  

I don't believe any of these are valid reasons that He would allow such a thing to occur. Building upon my last post, I failed to mention, and possibly even realize, the reason God allows us our free agency and refrains from continually healing our mortal bodies. His love.  He loves us so much that He allows us to continually make our own choices, even if He knows that those choices may make us or our loved ones suffer.  Surely He knew the outcome of this flight when they took off. Surely He had angels and sentinels waiting to welcome His 10 children home. And surely He didn't cause the crash.  The Lord gave us superior intelligence, which in turn has evolved into modern technology, which is flawed, as mortal men are.  But to take away our agency, even when He knows pain and suffering may result from such divinely inspired innovation, would go against His plan. Thankfully, He continues to give us the choice and the accompanying consequence because of His deep, unconditional love.

He loves us so much that He watched His Firstborn Son, the only perfect and genuinely innocent being that has ever lived or ever will live on the face of this great earth...He watched Him suffer in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, where He paid the price for every sin, felt every pain, suffered every known and unknown form of anguish and torment. He saw the flesh of His perfect Son torn, then witnessed as He was hung on the cross and died there, in unspeakable pain. This redeeming and one-of-a-kind event even left the Holy Son of God pleading for relief, though never denying the Father's will. The Father did not remove that bitter cup from His perfect Son because of His vast love. For us. For you. No greater love hath any man than to lay down his life for his brother. And no greater love hath anyone than to allow this to happen for the sake of your soul.  

I encourage you to address your struggles this week, take them to the Lord.  Ask that your burdens may be lightened and see what the hand of the Lord can do in your life.  Have a little hope.  Have a little faith.  That faith will blossom as you exercise it. Discover that He loves you and try to understand that He knows that without your pain, you cannot feel of true joy.  The Savior gave His life for you, as the Father stood by and could not bear to watch.  Thank Them for the great sacrifice They have so deeply suffered and allow that great act of the Atonement to work for you in your life, to make you whole, to lighten your load. Pray for humility, that you may be taught.  Ask for guidance, that you may be drawn to the things you need to put first. Pray for others and do what you can to ease the burden of someone else.  You will feel the loving hand of the Lord, your God, and you will taste of His goodness and mercy, not His damnation and condemnation.  The Savior, Jesus Christ, knows your every sadness, understands with absolution your very soul, and wants to give you light, hope, direction and purpose.  Your purpose is greater than you will ever know.  Your life has more value than you can imagine.  He knows you and loves you.  Pray that you may feel and understand these things. I pray that I might do the same.