Then why is the EXPERIENCE of it so different for a child learning to walk, than for an eagle soaring above us? Does gravity not pull on the eagle?

Or, is it a highly complex thing, to try to determine the truth of something by observing different experiences of it?

Whether I believe in gravity, or not, the truth is that it will continually affect my life – in ways that can sometimes be observed, by some people, and in ways that can’t be.

What I learn about gravity and how I choose to interact with it (which will be affected in part by my circumstances) can radically change my experience, but not the truth of it.

Should I feel ashamed that I haven’t purchased an airplane and learned to fly, like others have? Should I criticize the eagle for having advantageous circumstances? Should I doubt God’s fairness towards toddlers since they weren’t born with all of the skills to walk smoothly without falling?

Daniel emerged from the Lion’s den unharmed, but many of Jesus’ followers were martyred. I don’t think that the God who persuaded hungry lions not to eat Daniel – was unaware of Stephen’s and Paul’s dire circumstances, or uninterested. I don’t think He ‘liked’ Daniel better, or that Daniel’s situation was one of comfort and ease.

I think there were many factors involved.

My Dad died slowly of cancer, while my Mom prayed and believed God that he would be healed. I don’t know why he wasn’t healed.

I’ve never read that Jesus turned some one away, who came to Him for healing, in faith. Does that mean that I doubt my parents’ faith? Actually, I consider their experience to be something that I shouldn’t judge. I shouldn’t judge them, or God, for it.

Whatever happened or didn’t happen, between them and God – depended on them and God. Maybe Dad didn’t believe God would heal him, or maybe he came in fear instead of faith. Maybe Dad had caught a revelation about God that made him so eager to get to heaven that he never wanted to be healed! Maybe he quietly harbored some sin and felt unworthy to ask for healing.

Maybe he’d watched some one he loved die, and assumed that God only healed people ‘when He felt like it’, and so, having no faith for healing, arrived early in heaven. (When Jesus got to a place where the people had no faith, He performed very few miracles.) The possibilities are countless.

I have allergies, I’ve pulled my rib many times, I had a head cold 2 weeks ago. I have acne rosacea. I believe God would love to have me walk healthy every day of life, even though I experience health in a typical, normal way.

But – I have been healed by God. Not of everything, but of one thing that is serious enough for me to make the effort to believe God – to keep my faith in Him on the topic strong. And, anytime symptoms return (6 months out of 17 years), I go and read what God said about healing, instead of saying, “Oops – guess I was wrong about God on that”. I believe what I’ve learned about God’s nature, through the Bible, rather than my symptoms or experience.

Isn’t it okay if God meets each one of us at the point of our own faith? Do I have to see evidence in people’s circumstances to know what God’s like, or can I accept that what I receive from Him depends on me, and Him, and our relationship, and my life, and my fears, and my failures…

I believe God is good, and that He loves us, and that He wants to bless us – in our circumstances all over this world. But when Adam & Eve sinned, they forever changed the planet and how things work on it. We don’t get to walk in the cool of the garden, unaware of our nakedness, talking with Him each night. There is disease and sin, and poverty and violence and a whole lot more. Our relationship with Him is personal, just like our circumstances – and so we’ll each have a different experience with Him.

He’s not playing ‘favourites’. But the Christians in Chinese prisons are in different circumstances than people starving in third wold countries, and than people in North America with healthcare and homes and food…

Comparing to gravity – my kids can play ‘blind man’s bluff’ in the backyard quite safely, but don’t try it on a rooftop – in fact, on a rooftop, you probably won’t play many games at all – you’re probably there for a specific purpose. And, if you are on a plane that’s going down hard, the results you experience aren’t going to be as significantly affected by your choices and actions. But the same gravity is present, and pulling in every circumstance. The truth of it is unchanged, regardless of which experience you have…

I think the reason that many people struggle with this is that they live under the mistaken notion that acute pain, extended suffering, and, untimely, death are the worst things that can happen to us. That is a fallacy.