Brighten Your Day

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.