Vantage Point

One look at the newspaper today, and one could think things couldn't get much worse on our blue planet. This then poses a familiar question...why does God allow suffering? Lately I heard the best response to this question...why do we? It would seem that most of the suffering we read about today is a direct result of mankind's unkindness, not God's. Our indifference to others, our closed circles of influence, our metered kindness unbalances the world, and sets dangerous and dark sequences into motion. Sequences that lead to stealing, killing and destroying. Shining light on suffering, and bringing relief to those who suffer, sets another sequence into motion, one of redemption, hope and, ultimately, love. From this vantage point, it is easy to see that one person, deciding to bring relief to another person's suffering, for even one hour, would create a dynamic that would bring balance back into the world. For the relief of suffering would extend not just to the one person, but also to their family, friends and community.  What would happen on our blue planet if each one of us decided that this would be the last day that we would close our eyes to the suffering of someone else, that starting tomorrow we would make it our business to relieve that suffering, even for one hour.  Show me who, God, show me how. Everyday, it will get better for us all.