Where is God? You hear stories about someone missing a flight, where the airplane crashes and everyone dies. They are often quoted “God was looking after me”. But what happened to the other 200 passengers that perished on that flight. Was not God looking after them? Maybe God has no control over what happens on a daily basis.
In the Heaven’s Truth Religion (Tenrikyo), it is the principle of Causality that determines what happens every day. Good thoughts and actions bring forth joy, and evil thoughts and behavior brings upon suffering. This principle is Heaven’s truth. The effect of our actions and thoughts may not unfold until our next lives. This explains why some suffer and others have joy in their lives. This is why evil appears to thrive, and the good sometimes perish. By some incomprehensible system to mankind, God has created a complex system where every soul becomes liable for his or her behavior. By some complex system, the effect of each action occurs at selected times, possible awaiting individuals of similar fate, and selected circumstances. This is why it may take many life times for an effect to take place.
By this system of causality, God has created a process where all mankind can live a joyous life. If we all begin to help others, we can by the principle of causality bring forth joy in our own lives. But by this principle, if we hurt others by words or actions, we can continue to bring upon suffering to others, but also to ourselves. In the Heaven’s Truth Church, it is said that because God saw the suffering on this earth, he has descended from heaven to work; God has been on the sideline since he created mankind. What will God do?
