. . .We are here to finish God's labors. . .so that we could be His partners in completing the work of creation.
Harold S. KushnerIs there an answer to the question of why bad things happen to good people?...The response would beโฆto forgive the world for not being perfect, to forgive God for not making a better world, to reach out to the people around us, and to go on living despite it allโฆno longer asking why something happened, but asking how we will respond, what we intend to do now that it has happened.
Harold S. KushnerBut at the end, if we are brave enough to love, if we are strong enough to forgive, if we are generous enough to rejoice in another's happiness, and if we are wise enough to know that there is enough love to go around for us all, then we can achieve a fulfillment that no other living creature will ever know, we can reenter paradise.
Harold S. KushnerGod does not cause our misfortunes. Some are caused by bad luck, some are caused by bad people, and some are simply an inevitable consequence of our being human and being mortal. living in a world of inflexible natural laws. The painful things that happen to us are not punishments for our misbehavior, nor are they in any way part of some grand design on God's part. Because the tragedy is not God's will, we need not feel hurt or betrayed by God when tragedy strikes. We can turn to Him for help in overcoming it, precisely because we can tell ourselves that God is as outraged by it as we are.
Harold S. KushnerI think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense.
Harold S. KushnerAt some of the darkest moments in my life, some people I thought of as friends deserted me-some because they cared about me and it hurt them to see me in pain; others because I reminded them of their own vulnerability, and that was more than they could handle. But real friends overcame their discomfort and came to sit with me. If they had not words to make me feel better, they sat in silence (much better than saying, "You'll get over it," or "It's not so bad; others have it worse") and I loved them for it.
Harold S. Kushner