Article June 20, 2016 Issue

A thief and a victim, or two children of God?

Gary Duke

“Gary, my purse was stolen, but I just want my ID, photos, and credit cards back—the thief can have the money!” That was the gist of a call I received from a fellow church member.

“Do you really want to limit your demonstration of God’s goodness?” I asked. My friend—let’s call her Betty—didn’t know what I meant. I explained that outlining how this experience was going to work out by expecting only partial good was also expecting partial bad. And wasn’t that limiting God’s power to correct and harmonize the situation in full? It’s like accepting bread crumbs when we can expect and have the full loaf.

Are we going to let an untoward event tempt us into feeling victimized?