For God so loved the worldEven though I was only a little child, I remember the cold autumn day when I accompanied my father to a cemetery neighbor. As we stood over three tiny graves, I remember the tears streaming down my father's face and the anguish in his eyes. My father was reluctant to explain why we were there, for fear that I was simply too young and innocent to understand the horrible circumstances involved. He didn't need to explain. I knew exactly why we were there. Rumor had already spread through my elementary school that a woman in our community had murdered her three young children a few days earlier. It was rumored that the eldest of three boys was found under a pile of clothes in a coat closet inside their small suburban home. It was assumed that he had witnessed the gruesome deaths of his two younger brothers, so he retreated into the closet to escape. His mother found him there and he too fell victim to such a horrible fate. Why did this have to happen? I thought God loved all little children and was supposed to protect them. How could he allow this among such innocent little creatures? All these thoughts ran through my mind and I finally got the courage to ask my father these questions. His only response was that they must be very special children and that God needed them in Heaven. Not satisfied with his answer, this experience haunted me for much of my childhood. Would God allow this to happen to me? I spent many years searching for answers. I recently read The Problem of Evil by Richard Swinburne and realized that it confirmed the answers I had found over the years. He argues that God created us as free agents in an imperfect world where we can learn right from wrong and...... middle of paper ...... t God takes advantage of every situation and works to bringing out good from evil, life from death and hope from despair. I know this idea alone cannot eliminate sorrow and pain, but I hope it can give us the courage to continue living and the knowledge that God will not abandon us. We can triumph over evil in the midst of our suffering. We can live in hope that there is a right and perfect place for us beyond this world. I can now find comfort in the fact that there are three little boys from my past who are now in a much better place than this world. They have eternal happiness and joy. Maybe my father was right after all: they are very special children.Bibliography:1. Swinburne, Richard. “The Problem of Evil.” The Canon and its Critics, a multi-perspective introduction to philosophy. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing, 2000. 575-86.