I have heard this many times. Often, someone will say this when trying to understand some difficulty, hardship, or grievance. Sometimes a well-meaning person may even say this to another in attempt to console the other who is experiencing such.
I say well-meaning because I'm sure this is said with sincerity and empathy, although it is also said because as humans, and especially Christians, we sometimes struggle to find meaning and purpose in life itself, but this is especially the case in moments of crisis, tragedy, and loss.
The truth though is that this is a common misunderstanding of what Saint Paul writes in Romans 8:28:
And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints.
If you examine the two thoughts here, you will clearly see the difference.
"Everything happens for a reason" proposes that all good and bad befall a person according to God's Will, that every single circumstance or situation is somehow brought on or caused by God.
"And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints" is quite different however.
First of all, "to them that love God" is obviously not directed to all since it should go without saying that not all love God. There's something even a bit deeper here, but for the sake of simplicity this will suffice.
Then "all things work together unto good", while seeming to suggest a "happy reason" for a sad circumstance, it is actually another example of the difference between happiness and joy. It is impossible to be happy all of the time, especially in difficult times, but we can always find joy.
Joy is being able to look beyond the sorrow and suffering to a hope and trust which is placed in God, based upon His promise. It is the ability to see this life for what it is, temporary, while having the assurance of God's desire ("according to his purpose") for our eternal salvation ("to such as... are called to be saints").
"Everything happens for a reason" proposes that all existence is being controlled and arranged by God exactly as He plans it, and we are all puppets on a string, carrying on throughout our lives consigned to acting without choice.
This eliminates God's gift of free will for us, and it is a heresy.
Free will, a gift from God. God desires that we choose to love Him above all things. He desires that we turn our eyes to Him, to seek His Will in all things.
This freedom is also what makes us responsible. That responsibility is to ourselves, to God, and to others. This three-fold responsibility is also why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is so important, but I digress. When one acts according to his own desires rather than the desire of God, those actions (sins) also affect others.
Sin. If you are looking for someone or something to blame for the aforementioned misfortunes, sin is your target, not God.
While repentance and forgiveness may remove sin, the effects of the sin remain. In my Faith Formation classes, I use the example of one child having a bad day, and as a result, being mean to another child. As a result, that child may be mean to another, and so on.
Another example is that of an adult, who poorly chooses to become intoxicated and drive a vehicle, is the cause of an accident, killing someone else.
Sure, the sin can be forgiven, but the damage is done, and the effects of the sin remain. One need only think of the grief the loss of the accident victim will have on an untold number of persons and the multifaceted impact the loss of the individual will have on many lives, to begin to understand the compounded impact of the effects of sin throughout human history.
"And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints" proposes that God loves us enough that He never tires of adjusting our path to re-conform to His purpose.
This does not mean that it will be easy for us, nor does it mean that we will avoid suffering or that everything that happens to us will be "fair." It does not mean that we will understand everything that happens to us either. Sometimes it will be a Mystery.
We can know and understand some things about a Mystery, but not all.
It is in these times though that I think about the greatest Mystery of all, and it does bring comfort to me; comfort, awe, and Hope.
The greatest Mystery to me is that God chose to become one of us and die the horrific death that He did on the Cross for the forgiveness of sin. Why? Why did He choose to do it in that way? Couldn't He just "snap His fingers" and fix everything? Couldn't He just do a do-over?
It's a Mystery.
For the past several weeks, I and my family have experienced our share of difficulties. I do not find comfort in "Everything happens for a reason", but I do find comfort in
And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints.
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