People frequently ask me how to answer
tough questions like, “Why would God let all those homes burn down?”
As children develop their notions of
the Divine from whatever house of worship you attend, they tend, with
their still immature perspectives, to think of God like a character
in a Disney feature film; a powerful genie with a magic carpet, or a
wand.
In reality, the best answer goes something
like this: “Honey, God did not burn down anybody’s home. God created
all the wonderful trees and flowers, and left it up to us to keep them
trimmed, make our homes as fire-safe as possible, and not be careless
with fire.”
An answer such as this places the responsibility
on humans to take care of all their blessings, lest unfortunate, sad,
and desperate things happen.