When does God decide to get involved in the lives of humans and what are the circumstances that provoke or invites his involvement? It cannot be faith alone because there are millions of ardently faithful people who have not had a direct encounter with the divine. Similarly, there are people of tenuous faith whose lives have been changed forever as a result of a visit from the Almighty.
My mom was a passionately faithful woman. According to her beliefs, God and his emissaries were very active in the material world. She believed that laying hands upon the sick could bring about healing, she believed that anointing with oil repelled malevolent spirits, she believed in the gifts of the Spirit, and she believed that her son was far too analytical when discussing issues of faith.
So here he goes again....
After her left arm and hand were paralyzed by a stroke, Mom went into overdrive in her efforts to manifest a miracle healing. She prayed, she fasted, she donated the food money that she saved by fasting to various religious organizations, and she told her grandkids that soon she'd be able walk and run and play ball with them at the park because God was going to give her a miracle.
Shortly after she died, Anthony posed the following question to me, "Grandma Ann said that she was going to get better and race me at the park, how come God didn't fix her like she said he would?"
I didn't, and still don't, have a decent answer for him.
There are few in this world with that much faith, and as such, God needed a powerful angel to help him encourage others' faith.
Posted by: an old friend | January 04, 2010 at 02:22 PM