Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

I have a middle school student living in Cambodia with her parents as missionaries. The tsunami has the people in Cambodia fairly shook up. She is shook up herself, so is her family. The other day I received an email from her asking for my help with a question that some people that she has contact with have been asking her and her missionary parents:


"If God is so great, why does he allow so much devastation? Just this week some friends of ours told us they meet a man who started to give them a lecture all about how if God was so good how come he allowed thousands of children to die in a tsunami? My mom and dad say that everything leads back to sin, but my mom was having second thoughts.

We are having a hard time seeing how sin had anything to do with a tsunami. I mean, it wasn’t really anyone’s fault that the earth moved. My question is this: If someone asked you asked you the “how could God do this” question, what is the correct response? What could you say to make the other person understand? What would you say? My parents said this was a very good question."


"Why do bad things happen to good people?"


I gave some great scriptures that she could use to support why these things happen and what will happen in the future. But you know it didn't seem to answer her question completely. What do I say to someone that does not know Jesus? Are my Bible verses enough?


Well tomorrow I get the opportunity to ask this question to a bunch of high school students on their campus during their Christian Club. I will post their answers and the questions that arise from the discussion. I pray that it will lively and thought provoking. My hope is that the "right" Christian answers would not be given. Rather they will look deeper for their answers.