Bad Things

My wife and I were talking the other night about why bad things sometimes happen, even when we are trying to be good.
We have been having some minor financial problems. Who hasn't, right?
We made some bad decisions, and are now suffering the consequences.
We were saying that it kind of sucks to be so broke.
I was asked why God would allow this kind of thing to happen.
I thought about how we have been invited to call Him Abba Father (Abba, literally translated is 'Daddy'). A cool metaphor formed in my mind. That of a loving father who, instead of shooing his child away from the hot stove, does not intervene and allows the child touch it once. The pain teaches the child to never do that again. Much more effective than just saying "No, no! Hot!"
Our wise and loving Father teaches us valuable life lessons through sometimes painful means. But sometimes that is the only way we can learn.