Last Friday night was a great night for a ball game. Our team was playing well, having lots of fun. Then, like a dark cloud of misery, a swarm of mosquitoes attacked. We slapped, swatted and sprayed. It did not help. Swarm after swarm, they came. Finally and thankfully, the game ended, and we could escape our night of torture. On Sunday, our church was having its annual church picnic. It was a beautiful morning. I was together with a community of people whom I love, enjoying a How can a good God allow pain and suffering? great worship service and looking forward to an amazing lunch, all in a beautiful setting. Then they came, wave after wave of mosquitoes. We ate, squirmed and swatted. Then it rained, and we all went home, leaving our suffering behind us. I really thought of words like “suffering” and “torture” while these two events were happening. Later, as I washed off dead mosquitoes and bug spray in the shower, I began to think. Do words like “torture” and “baseball” go together? Was I really suffering through a church picnic? For years, philosophers, gurus and theologians have tried to answer the question: Why do bad things happen to good people? The question of how a good God can allow pain and suffering has been asked through the ages. This is an important question, though I am not sure we will discover the entire answer in this lifetime. At the same time, I am beginning to ask a new question. What about the problem of pleasure? If there was no God, would there be baseball? There certainly would be no church picnics. Almost everywhere I look, I see things that point to the idea of a God who is good and desires to share His goodness with us. How is it that love can be such a wonderful thing? Why are there beaches, swimming pools and suntans? Why are there laughter, singing and hugs? Why are there butterflies, bluejays and raccoons? These are all questions that cannot be answered unless there is a Father God who loves to bless His kids – us. The problem of pain can cause people to wonder: Is there really a God? The problem of pleasure causes us to wonder: How can there not be a God? Don Boddy lives in Portage La Prairie, Man.

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