I have reflected on the bombings in Brussels and asking, "How can this happen?"

Incidents like this give us pause, and we may even wonder why God allows things like this to happen. If He is all-powerful, why does He allow evil men to impose their wills on seemingly innocent people.

Some may even say that this is further proof that God doesn't exist. For, if He did, He would surely prevent evil men from committing these kinds of crimes upon humanity.

So what do we do? Do we blame God? Or, do we take the next step and say, "See, God doesn't really exist after all. For, if He did, then this kind of evil wouldn't continue to happen."

I am truly sad so many were injured and lost their lives. I too am weary of all that is happening around the world. After all, I visited Ground Zero on a couple different occasions while the pile was still smoking. I prayed as the remains of victims were found, wrapped in American flags, and brought to the entrance. I felt totally unworthy to pray with the rescue workers who worked tirelessly day after day and moved the remains of victims to the morgue. I will never forget those images and the smells. They are forever ingrained in my mind.

Instead of declaring that God doesn't exist, I affirm that evils such as what happened in Brussels are further proof that He exists. If He didn't, then we would have no standard or authority to say that the bombing was evil. What would be our standard if there were no God?

If you are a student of history, you may be aware that it hasn't been until around the eighteenth century that American culture began to drift away from more traditional beliefs in God. Our society slowly shifted to a more secular view of life apart from God. We began to expect that if we did the right things, then good things would always happen. If disaster happened, then God has failed us in some way.

However, as Tim Keller observes in his book, Walking With God Though Pain and Suffering, "pain and evil in this world are pervasive and deep and have spiritual roots.".

And as philosopher Charles Taylor also noted, "It is as we get larger in our own eyes, less dependent on God's grace and revelation, and surer that we understand how this universe works and how history should go that the problem of evil becomes so intolerable."

I believe the Christian view of suffering is the only one that helps to make sense of 9/11, Paris, Brussels and the next mass shooting or bombing. What is the Christian view of suffering and evil? This view of suffering and evil can be summarized clearly and precisely by Tim Keller in Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering. He affirms four tenants of Christian belief.

The first is a belief in a personal, wise, infinite, and therefore inscrutable God who controls the affairs of the world - and that is far more comforting than the belief that our lives are in the hands of fickle fate or random chance.

The second tenant is that, in Jesus Christ, God came to earth and suffered with and for us sacrificial lay - and that is far more compelling than the idea that God is remote and uninvolved.

The third tenant is that through faith in Christ's work on the cross, we can have assurance of our salvation - that is far more comforting than the karmic systems of thought.

The fourth tenant is that of the bodily resurrection from the dead for all who believe.

This then begs the question: why does God allow evil and suffering?

I will respond to that in my next post.