A preacher
and an atheistic barber were once walking through the city slums. The
barber said, “This is why I cannot believe in a God of love. If God was
as kind as you say, He would not permit all this poverty, disease and
squalor. He would not allow these poor bums to be addicted to drugs and
other life-destroying habits. No, I cannot believe in a God who permits
these things.”
The preacher
was silent until they met a man who was especially unkempt and filthy.
His hair was hanging down his neck and he had a half-inch of stubble on
his face. The preacher said, “You cannot be a very good barber or you
would not permit a man like that to continue living in this neighborhood
without a haircut or shave.”
Indignantly
the barber answered, “Why blame me for that man’s condition? I cannot
help it that he is like that. He has never come in my shop. If he were
to visit me, I could fix him up and make him look like a real person! No
barber would never let that man leave his shop without him looking
well-groomed.”
Giving the
barber a penetrating look, the preacher said, “Then do not blame God for
allowing these people to continue in their evil ways, when He is
constantly inviting them to come and be saved. The reason these people
are slaves to sin and evil habits is that they refuse the One who died
to save and deliver them.” The barber saw the point. Do you?
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