japan.

warning: religious rant ahead. beware.


there is this one boy in my book of mormon class that constantly complains about how unjust and unfair god is. he rants on and on about how, in the bible (particularly the old testament), mass genocides are justified just because god commanded it. it infuriates him to think that entire groups of people in history were wiped off the face of the earth at god's command. it seems that at least once a week he asks a question that leads back to this injustice. to this, my professor always reminds him that it is god's will, and we have to have faith in that will, even and especially when we don't understand it. i find myself becoming bothered by this classmate. how can he continue to forget that he needs to have faith in god's will and trust in his plan for us? 


this morning, i awoke to the news of the earthquake and resulting tsunamis in japan. i was overcome with sadness for those who lost their lives and their families. i couldn't help but worry for my friends who are serving their missions in japan and hawaii (who also had a tsunami warning). as the day progressed, i learned of my friends' safety as well as the rising death toll in japan. how could god allow so many innocent people to die today? why is this happening? 


i then realized that it is easy for me to look back at people from bible times as they perish under god's command and think, it's all part of his plan. however, as i watch videos of floods covering entire cities and hear of something more that has gone wrong due to this tragedy, i find myself wondering how this could possibly fit into god's plan. how can the death of hundreds of people in one day be justified in the least? it's not fair that all of those women and children have been forced to leave this earth so early. 


and then i remember. 
god has a plan for all of us.
who am i to question that plan?


to me, it doesn't seem fair and it doesn't seem just that so many people perished today.
but god sees more than i see. 
"while we cannot see the end from the beginning, we can be assured that god does."