For God So Loved the World

I read an article recently, it was about child abuse. I think I have never read anything that impacted me this much.

The article described a five-year-old girl who was abused to death by her own mother. She was so badly abused that she had internal and external bleeding at various places, all over her body. She was not born in a broken family -- she was the second child of the family; she had an older brother who was just 1 year older than her; her parents were married; her father had a stable job but away from home; they were not in poverty. Yet, she was a victim of cruel torture by her own mother.

What did the mother do? Constant beatings were not the only thing that this girl had to suffer; she was in constant hunger. She had never known what it means to have her stomach filled. Every evening during dinner time, her mother will be sitting at the table with her brother, and she had to come with her little bowl, begging her mother to give her some food. If her mother was angry with her, she would be scolded and chased away without any food.

When she was three, she was so hungry that she took some chicken feed to eat. The consequence? Her mother sewed her mouth! We're talking about her very own mother, who bore her for 9 months and gave birth to her!

Ten days before she died, her older brother coaxed her mother to buy some meat for him to eat because it had been a long time since he had the special dish. Her mother immediately got up and went to the market with him, came back and fried the meat. The little girl, taking the opportunity when her mother was in the bathroom, quickly took and ate some small bits of fat that was still hot. But her mother came, pulled her hair and pushed her against the wall. Knowing it would be worse if she were to cry out, the little girl could only suffer the beatings in silence. But the mother wasn't satisfied with just beating her; she dragged her near the pot of hot oil where she had just fried the meat, and poured the hot oil into her mouth!

The days following, the little girl hardly ate anything. On the ninth day, she had severe diarrhea, and was again beaten up because of that. Then on the tenth day at 1 a.m. midnight, while she was squatting over the toilet bowl trying to pee, she just collapsed. Her eyes were still wide opened, but unseeing; her mouth was opened and still bleeding profusely. Her mother tried to hide her death, by putting on new clothes on her dead body, clothes that the little girl had wanted very much to wear but was never given the chance. But when the coroner did an autopsy on her body, it was all uncovered -- all the beatings, all the cruelty... It wasn't just scars and wound that they uncovered; there were rotten wounds, her nails were black from blood clots, her chin and lips were torn apart, even her private parts were full of wounds. They even discovered a small corner in the closet where she was sleeping. Her tiny piece of mat was there and it was bloodstained.

Cut the story short, the wicked (is there a stronger word that I can use?) mother was arrested and charged at court. But the most shocking thing was, not only did she pleaded not guilty, instead she said, "This is my daughter, I have the right to do to her as I like, beat her up as much as I want to!"

Could there be something done that would have prevented her death? The neighbours, though out of sympathy would sometimes give her something to eat, were helpless about her predicament and did not do anything about it. The brother watched all the beatings and abuse, but did not do anything about it. The social workers who came periodically to visit the family were only advising the mother against the abuse; they did not do anything about it. She just silently suffered the endless tears and pain and hunger. And she died.

Talk about suffering...

When we had a paper cut or pricked our finger, or when we are accused or betrayed or back stabbed, or when we are experiencing low finance, or when we are having a bad week at work / school / college / university... Just think about this little girl who really suffered. She REALLY suffered!

When I read this, there were two questions that went through my mind. The first is: Where was God when she was suffering so much, when all she wanted was for her hunger to be filled? Was He not seeing nor hearing? Didn't He know she was in pain and crying out for help? Didn't He have all the solutions and answers? Didn't He have all the power that could have saved her? Didn't He say He created life with purpose and meaning? Was there ever the tiniest sign that there was meaning to her life? Did she exist for her family to torture her? Did she exist to suffer this way? Didn't He love her?

Well, it's easy to say that this little girl is in heaven right now and forever in His everlasting love, no more suffering and pain, no more cruelty, no more fear, no more hunger, forever satisfied in her spirit, soul and body. But is this the way God answers the question of suffering? Is this the way God answers us when WE are the ones suffering any kind of pain, whether physical or emotional, in our life?

The answer is no. He doesn't answer us the way we want our question to be answered. God is not apologetic about what happens in history, from the beginning of time until now. He doesn't need to apologise, because He is STILL the Sovereign God; He is STILL in control. Yes, you may say that the world is chaotic, so how can He be in control? Well, He's still in control because you're still living and breathing and you still have a mind that is able to reason out this question. Because the question of suffering is not just a general question we ask when face with issues like child abuse or famine or natural disasters that claimed thousands of lives and tore families apart. It is a personal question, a question that eventually you and I will ask, whether you are a believer or skeptic, whether you call yourselves agnostic or spiritual. It's the deepest cry of our heart, that "God, where are You?", of which the resounding second part of the question we dare not utter: "I need You, God..." We dare not, not because we are afraid, but because we didn't have enough faith.

The second question that went through my mind is this: For God so loved the world. This means, He loved this little girl, who suffered so much; but it hangs on the same truth that He also loved this wicked woman who murdered her own child. He LOVED her! Just think about the magnitude of this truth! It is totally unthinkable! How can anyone ever love this woman knowing that she is a merciless murderer? Even her husband and her son, how can they still love her, unless they are as cruel and cold-blooded like her? But GOD LOVED HER! He can't tolerate her sins, but He loved her and is compassionate toward her, just as much as He is to this little girl.

Sometimes, we (believers, I'm talking about us!) are like the Pharisees in the Bible. We look at people and judge whether they deserve God's love, God's salvation, God's pardon. If we don't do it outwardly, we try to excuse them in our minds, saying, "I think this person doesn't deserve to go to heaven because of the evil he's done, or because she's a prostitute, or because he's a murderer, or because she's wicked, or because he's sinful!" We even give excuses to the people we *think* we are reaching out to, saying "Well, he's a Buddhist, I don't think he is open to the gospel"; or "He's too busy to come to church / Christian events"; or "She's too worldly and her reasoning is weird". Now, isn't it clear that we really only *think* we are reaching out to them but we're actually not?

Come back to this mother, do you personally think that she deserves heaven? Well, if I were to be totally honest with myself, I would say no. A flat, no-option kind of NO. But who am I? Who are we to judge? God says she deserves, and she can be forgiven, no matter how big or small her sin is, how cruel or kindhearted, how wicked or tender she was to her child. God says SHE DESERVES! That is great love. And that is what a lot of people cannot accept. But this is THE TRUTH -- For God so loved the world! And this is the gospel of grace and everlasting love that we are to preach.

(By the way, if you're thinking, the gospel is never traditional or goes by human standards or popular opinion; it's always confrontational, to the preacher, as well as to the hearer.)

Back to question #1, where was God when the little girl needed Him? God was there. He was right there, not watching helplessly, silently, hands folded; but I believe He showed her that He also suffered and died a cruel death. Not only that; just as He resurrected and now lives forever, she too lives forever with Him, and forever without suffering and pain. Five years of torture, is but a tiny speck in the spans of eternity. And this is also the gospel of grace and everlasting love that we are to preach. Our present suffering will never be comparable to the ultimate, fullness of joy and glory we will receive in heaven.

I believe these two questions are genuine cries of our heart to understand the magnitude of God's amazing grace and love. They deserve an answer. And the answer... is none other than God.

John 3:16 -- For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall no perish but have everlasting life.