Psalm 124 Daniel 6:10-16 Hebrews 10:32-39 Matthew 24:9-14
It was 1985. I was in Peru, walking with a friend, talking about a terrorist attack we had seen on TV that morning. My friend concluded, as if disillusioned, If God exists, then how can He permit such pain and suffering? One thing I’m sure of: I don’t believe in God anymore.
As Christian students in Peru, we were trying to understand the origin of the evil that impregnates society. We were trying to have faith amidst many adverse conditions. We were trying not to let the excessive violence and moral crisis blind us to God.
We kept on walking. For about a minute neither of us said anything. Then I told him, just as certainly, Neither do I believe in a god that cannot free man from misery and pain. For that reason, I do believe in God.
It was a statement made nearly three decades ago, in a world far different from our world today. But the question that my friend asked—and the statement that I made—wasn’t just relevant then. It is relevant for Lent, as well, as we prepare to read about the suffering of Christ.
In his writings, the disciple John claimed that God so Loved the world that He sent His onIy Son in sacrifice for it. We as Christians are witnesses of God’s plan to liberate mankind from the misery of sin.
And for that reason, during Lent (and everywhere and always), we must declare that we believe in God—a God of love!

–Fernando Hermoza