Although I have no faith, I’ve just finished listening to Carl’s sermon online. If God was to remove everything which was bad or evil, I would be one of the first to be eradicated. That said, amongst all this wrongdoing I’ve brought many good things to life, my family, friends and the wider community.
I live with Bipolar Disorder, a serious and incurable mental illness. Bipolar wrecks lives. It lays waste to families, careers, friendships and yes, even faith. So difficult is Bipolar to live with that, one-in-four sufferers go-on to take their own life. It’s a scary prospect and something I regularly have to battle.
There are few, if any, positives to having Bipolar and yet, if you scratch the surface, things are not quite what they seem. My life is so intertwined with Bipolar, it’s impossible to separate me from the illness and the illness from me.
So while Bipolar may be considered an “evil”, if there was a magic button to cure me, I seriously doubt I would press it or, by proxy, want God too either. I’m not sure I’d like me without Bipolar…I’d be a wholly different person. As things stand I’m a good and loving parent to my son, whom I’ve brought up on my own since he was three; he’s now nearly 19 and studying at university. I’m a loyal and generous friend and I have the capacity to love. I have no greed and I am content.
I have often questioned, “why does God allow this”. The answer I guess has been staring me in the face for many years; because an ultimate good can arise from evil or want. To destroy everything that is bad could remove an even greater good.
Thank you, Carl, for such a thought-provoking sermon.
Comment(1)
Robert says
28th September 2018 at 12:21 AMAlthough I have no faith, I’ve just finished listening to Carl’s sermon online. If God was to remove everything which was bad or evil, I would be one of the first to be eradicated. That said, amongst all this wrongdoing I’ve brought many good things to life, my family, friends and the wider community.
I live with Bipolar Disorder, a serious and incurable mental illness. Bipolar wrecks lives. It lays waste to families, careers, friendships and yes, even faith. So difficult is Bipolar to live with that, one-in-four sufferers go-on to take their own life. It’s a scary prospect and something I regularly have to battle.
There are few, if any, positives to having Bipolar and yet, if you scratch the surface, things are not quite what they seem. My life is so intertwined with Bipolar, it’s impossible to separate me from the illness and the illness from me.
So while Bipolar may be considered an “evil”, if there was a magic button to cure me, I seriously doubt I would press it or, by proxy, want God too either. I’m not sure I’d like me without Bipolar…I’d be a wholly different person. As things stand I’m a good and loving parent to my son, whom I’ve brought up on my own since he was three; he’s now nearly 19 and studying at university. I’m a loyal and generous friend and I have the capacity to love. I have no greed and I am content.
I have often questioned, “why does God allow this”. The answer I guess has been staring me in the face for many years; because an ultimate good can arise from evil or want. To destroy everything that is bad could remove an even greater good.
Thank you, Carl, for such a thought-provoking sermon.