God does not test us

The email said, "This is a test."  Just finishing up a very stressful semester of Grad school, my first thought was, "Oh No!!!!"

Tests are part of life. You cannot go anywhere or do anything unless you have performed some kind of test in some kind of field at some time in your life.

I see many people put the same attribute to God. This pain, this suffering, this trial is a test from God. Even the writers of scripture suggest that certain sufferings and trials are "tests from God". I beg to differ.

I think the mentality of God testing us comes more from our own creation, our own way of discerning or deciding. And of course, we think that God is like us, so God must test us to prove us. Wrong!

Therese of Lisieux could not believe God would treat us this way. Again and again she maintained that God is the Divine being of kindness and understanding, one who does not rejoice in our pain, but who suffers when we suffer.

And so I maintain, God does not test us like that. Life is just what it is. Instead of seeing ourselves forever tested, would we not do better to see life as a journey, with hills and valleys, with peaks and depressions, with light and darkness? And would we not do better to remember there is a Presence beside us at all times, sometimes felt, sometime hidden?

I think so. I think only finite, limited, human beings think up the testing concept. I think that the Divine Being, knowing all things, cares for us beyond our ability to understand or appreciate. I think the problem is, we just cannot grasp this kind of love.