This story has been useful in our Sunday School class to illustrate the presence of pain in the presence of a good God and faithful followers.
Once there was a mother who had three young sons. She also had a particularly beautiful cookie jar. It was not only a pleasure to look at, but was always filled with delicious cookies. Her sons liked to look at the cookie jar, and were always eager for the cookies it contained. The mother was generous with them, but the cookies remained a special treat. But the mother knew that too many cookies, or cookies at the wrong time, would not be healthy for them. If the children could take cookies whenever they liked, she knew they would not eat the healthy food they needed, and the cookies would cease to be a treat for them. Also, the jar, though beautiful, was fragile. Rough handling, typical to young boys, would break it. So, to protect the jar and her children, the mother kept the cookie jar on a high shelf in the kitchen. On that shelf, the children could still enjoy the jar,, but it was out of their reach. Their mother, however, could still reach it easily. And when the time was right, she would take it off the shelf, and everyone could enjoy the cookies inside.
One day, one of the sons wanted cookies. He knew his mother would not give him any, because it was not the time when her children were allowed to have them. So, he decided to get some himself. He told one of his brothers about his plans, then went to the cupboard. He climbed up on the shelves, and stretched for the jar. He could not get a grip on the jar, so he slid it toward the edge of the shelf where he could reach it. As he did, his other brother, who knew nothing about he cook raid, walked by. The boy on the cupboard slid the jar a little too close to the edge. It toppled off the shelf, hit the boy walking by, and shattered to pieces on the floor.
So: is the mother to blame fo the other boy being injured by the falling cookie jar? Of course not. She had put it securely on a high shelf, where it could not be accidentally knocked off. Did the son walking by do anything to deserve getting hit by the cookie jar? Of course not; he knew nothing about his brother's plot, and had no reason to expect the jar to fall. Sometimes, the wrongs people commit do not injure them, but innocent bystanders.
Was the first son wrong to want cookies/ No: they were not completely forbidden or excessively limited, only at that time of day, and when the mother gave them to the boys. Was the son who knew about the his brother's plans guiltless in this affair? No; he knew what his brother was doing was wrong, and did nothing to stop him, or warn someone in authority of his planned disobedience. Instead, he agreed with that rebellion with his silence. Will they suffer for their decisions? Yes: they will be punished, if not directly or immediately by their mother, with the loss of pleasure of the lovely cookie jar and the chance to enjoy the cookies inside. Will they be punished immediately upon the shattering of the cookie jar? No: the mother has to take care of the injured boy and the broken jar first. Will they be punished? Yes.
Can the mother put everything back the way it was? No: the jar is shattered, the cookies are spoiled, and the innocent son is hurt. Can she take away the innocent's son's injury? Ho. The cookie jar hit him as it fell. The best she can do is to comfort the wounded boy, and clean up the mess. A great mistake people make in the midst of trouble is to blame God for the trouble, when, in fact, He is not in the trouble, any more than he was in the storm Elijah experienced when he saw God (I Kings 19;12-13)Then, god was in the stillness. Likewise, God is in the comfort kind people offer to those who are in trouble.
Should the mother have known her sons might try to raid the cookie jar? She did know: that's why the jar was kept on a high shelf. She had made obedience easy: the sons could have cookies at the appropriate time, and, in the meantime, they could enjoy looking at the beautiful jar. Th boys had the choice of honoring her and protecting themselves from overeating from [something] by obeying her. Did the mother have a plan if the sons did disobey? Yes; she was prepared to comfort the injured, clean up the broken jar, and punish the guilty, She could also find a new jar, and make more cookies, but it would not be the same as the original one. We misunderstand God's omniscience sometimes. He doesn't just know what will be, but what might be; and have a plan for handling the variables. In order for people to have the free will to obey Hm, He must have a plan for when people obey Him, and when they disobey as well. He will not undo the past, but will bring comfort and healing to those who suffer fo the disobedience of others.
