Father, what is God?
Julio Almanza
October 11, 2009
One day a curious child asked his father, "Father, what is God?"
The father picked up his son and sat him on his lap and answered, "One day while I was waiting for the bus to get to work, a big dog, foaming from his mouth, chased me away from the bus stop for what seemed to be miles. Finally, it gave up and turned around. When I was catching my breath, I looked around and realized I did not know where I was at since I did not pay attention to my surroundings because the dog had me in such a fear. I stopped into a local Thrift shop and the owner was nice enough to give me directions back home. I waited for the number 13S bus, which the owner told me would take me right home. After about an hour riding on the bus, I learned that the owner of the Thrift shop had given me the wrong information. Instead of taking the 13S bus, I needed to take the 13N bus. I got off the bus in a bad neighborhood where the local thugs chased me out because they knew I was not from there. When I had lost them, once again I was lost and had no clue as to where I was. Then, it began to rain heavily. I was soaked from top to bottom. By chance, I had come across a 13N bus stop, but when it arrived I couldn´t get on because I had no money. The reason being was because my pocket had a big hole in it and my money fell through that hole. There I was hungry, tired, cold, with no money, and no way of contacting my friends for help. I walked along the road and asked God why I was the bearer of such suffering? Then, a second later, I found five dollars on the floor. I was relieved that some luck had finally come my way. I walked around looking for a local Café, and found one. Then, a homeless, hungry, man asked me for change. Seeing his condition, I immediately felt guilty because here I was asking God why I was suffering when this man had it ten times worse than me. I bought him whatever he wanted from the Café, and he used up every cent of those five dollars. Once again I had no more money and no way of getting home. I simply gave up and walked the street without knowing, or caring, where I would end up. I left my fate entirely in the hands of God. After a couple of miles walking the streets, not knowing how I was going to get home, a nice, lovely, woman pulled up next to me in her car and offered me a ride home. I didn´t know how she knew I needed a ride home or why she found it in her heart to allow a stranger, she has never met before, into her car, but she did. I gladly accepted her offer and told her about my day during the drive. A year later, I married her and we both gave birth to a wonderful boy."
"So how is that God?" Asked the child.
"If it wasn´t for the suffering I had to endure, I would have never found love. You cannot have love without suffering, and you cannot have suffering without love. God is love and suffering, and love and suffering is God."
"I understand." Answered the child.
The father picked up his son and sat him on his lap and answered, "One day while I was waiting for the bus to get to work, a big dog, foaming from his mouth, chased me away from the bus stop for what seemed to be miles. Finally, it gave up and turned around. When I was catching my breath, I looked around and realized I did not know where I was at since I did not pay attention to my surroundings because the dog had me in such a fear. I stopped into a local Thrift shop and the owner was nice enough to give me directions back home. I waited for the number 13S bus, which the owner told me would take me right home. After about an hour riding on the bus, I learned that the owner of the Thrift shop had given me the wrong information. Instead of taking the 13S bus, I needed to take the 13N bus. I got off the bus in a bad neighborhood where the local thugs chased me out because they knew I was not from there. When I had lost them, once again I was lost and had no clue as to where I was. Then, it began to rain heavily. I was soaked from top to bottom. By chance, I had come across a 13N bus stop, but when it arrived I couldn´t get on because I had no money. The reason being was because my pocket had a big hole in it and my money fell through that hole. There I was hungry, tired, cold, with no money, and no way of contacting my friends for help. I walked along the road and asked God why I was the bearer of such suffering? Then, a second later, I found five dollars on the floor. I was relieved that some luck had finally come my way. I walked around looking for a local Café, and found one. Then, a homeless, hungry, man asked me for change. Seeing his condition, I immediately felt guilty because here I was asking God why I was suffering when this man had it ten times worse than me. I bought him whatever he wanted from the Café, and he used up every cent of those five dollars. Once again I had no more money and no way of getting home. I simply gave up and walked the street without knowing, or caring, where I would end up. I left my fate entirely in the hands of God. After a couple of miles walking the streets, not knowing how I was going to get home, a nice, lovely, woman pulled up next to me in her car and offered me a ride home. I didn´t know how she knew I needed a ride home or why she found it in her heart to allow a stranger, she has never met before, into her car, but she did. I gladly accepted her offer and told her about my day during the drive. A year later, I married her and we both gave birth to a wonderful boy."
"So how is that God?" Asked the child.
"If it wasn´t for the suffering I had to endure, I would have never found love. You cannot have love without suffering, and you cannot have suffering without love. God is love and suffering, and love and suffering is God."
"I understand." Answered the child.