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haya, a boy with severe learning disabilities, was walking past a park with his father when he saw a group of boys playing baseball. He asked his dad if he could play. The father knew that Shaya couldn\'t even hold a bat properly, but he called over a boy he knew named Marty and asked if Shaya could join in the game.

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The game was almost over and his team was six runs behind, so Marty said, \"He can play outfield and we\'ll try to get him up to bat in the last inning.\" Shaya was thrilled.

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Unexpectedly, Marty\'s team rallied and there were two outs and the bases were loaded with the potential winning run when it was time for Shaya to bat. Still, the boys kept their word and let Shaya come to the plate.

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After a first clumsy swing, a teammate held the bat with Shaya and the pitcher moved closer to lob the ball in softly. With his teammate\'s help Shaya hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. Though he could have easily thrown Shaya out and ended the game, the pitcher deliberately threw it over the head of the first baseman. Everyone started yelling, \"Shaya, run to first! Run to first!\"

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Wide-eyed with excitement, Shaya ran. The right fielder saw Shaya\'s joy and intentionally made another bad throw. Players on both teams shouted for Shaya to keep running. The shortstop kept him running in the right direction and to cheers of \"Run home, Shaya!\" Shaya got to home plate to a hero\'s welcome, as all 18 boys cheered him for his game-winning grand slam home run.

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Shaya was deliriously happy and Shaya\'s father wept, knowing he\'d just experienced a perfect moment in a perfect game.¹

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If God is a God of love, why does
he allow such sorrow, suffering
and sadness to happen?

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For many of us our heart goes out to the underdog—the handicapped child who struggles to find his way, the abandoned child who is passed from foster home to foster home, the children whose parents are killed in an auto accident, or the lonely wife whose young husband died on a distant battle field, etc., etc. And we cry when we hear about their heartbreak.

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The world is filled with suffering people and the question is so often asked, if God is a God of love, why does he allow such sorrow, suffering and sadness to happen?

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The reality is that God also weeps when he sees the suffering of mankind. The Gospels record how, \"As he [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, \'If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace-but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God\'s coming to you.\'\"²

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I believe God still weeps over the suffering of mankind-whether our suffering is physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, the latter of which (unless resolved) ultimately causes the greatest long-term suffering of all. God especially grieves over the spiritual lost-ness of mankind. This is because our sinfulness has caused eternal separation from God and all that is loving and kind.

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We are reminded of God\'s undying concern and eternal love for us every Easter season when we remember and celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, our Lord and our Savior.

In Jesus\' day the tragedy was that most of the ancient Israelites, even though they were looking for their expected Messiah promised by the prophets of old, failed to recognize Jesus as their Messiah because he didn\'t come the way they expected, he didn\'t live they way they expected, and he didn\'t do what they expected and wanted their Messiah to do, and they certainly didn\'t expect him to die the way he did. They weren\'t looking for someone who would come to die on a Roman cross to pay the penalty for their sins—and in so doing bring them inner peace. But rather they were looking more for a leader who would overthrow the reign of Roman rule and set them free politically.

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Because they rejected their promised Messiah, Jesus told them that they were throwing away their opportunity to find both inner and political peace. He warned them that their magnificent temple would be destroyed, the city of Jerusalem overthrown, and their nation conquered—all of which happened exactly as he had said.

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Jesus also gave a warning for all the rest of us who fail to recognize him as God\'s promised Messiah—the Savior of the world. When we reject him we throw away the greatest opportunity we could ever find; not only inner peace with God, but also the gift of God\'s forgiveness for all our sins, and the gift of eternal life to be with God in Heaven forever.

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The great tragedy for us in our day is that without God\'s forgiveness we are doomed for a lost eternity in hell—whatever and wherever that might happen to be. One thing for certain is that all that is good and all that is of God will be gone forever. That alone is unthinkable. Keep in mind, however, hell was prepared for the devil and his angels and it is not so much that God sends anyone to hell. In a real sense we send ourselves there when we fail to accept God\'s full and free pardon and his gift of eternal life. That is, it is our sin that sends us to hell for no sin or sinner could ever enter God\'s heaven any more than a moth could fly into a flame and survive.

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The crucial issue is that we
believe and accept Jesus as
God\'s promised Messiah-Savior.

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As Jesus warned, \"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.\"³

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The crucial issue is that we believe and accept Jesus as God\'s promised Messiah-Savior of the world and accept him as Lord and Savior of our life. If you wish to do this you can pray a simple prayer such as the following:

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\"Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner and am sorry for all the wrongs that I have done. I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me. I invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart and life as Lord and Savior. I commit and trust my life to you. Please give me the desire to be what you want me to be and to do what you want me to do. Thank you for dying for my sins, for your free pardon, for your gift of eternal life, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Amen.\"
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If you prayed this prayer and genuinely meant it, please click on the \"Yes to God\" link (or \"God\'s Invitation\" on some websites) fill in the form and we will send you the web address for a free copy of the e-Brochure, \"How to Grow\" to help you in your Christian life.

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1. This story was adapted by Michael Josephson from one that has circulated widely on the Internet under the name \"Run, Shaya, Run.\" The original version was published under the name \"Perfection at the Plate\" in the 1999 book Echoes of the Maggid by Rabbi Paysach Krohn. The author says that the story is true, and that he heard it from Shaya\'s father, a friend of his.

2. Luke 19:41-44, (NIV).
3. Matthew 10:28, (NIV).

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