Testing: Day 8

Word Count: 48,017

Summary of Events:

Gabriel was returning from work at his new job at the livery stable and saw Ivy sitting in the cemetery; she looked particularly frail and out of it, not to mention Gabriel thought it was awfully late, so he saddled his horses and took her to the Bramwell's where he was invited to stay to dinner before leaving — although Ivy caught him and asked him a question before he left. Ivy gazed out the window at the mountain landscape until Gabriel arrived to give her an answer to her question . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

""I should think you would know why I'm here," Mr. Raider said.

"I do," Ivy replied.

"The question you asked of me last night, I must say, was both elementary, and difficult," Mr. Raider replied. "The answer, honestly, is quite elementary to deduce with only a brief survey of the Bible, it is the explanation of the answer, however, that is quite difficult."

Ivy shifted her jaw, but said nothing, she wanted an answer, after all.

"You asked, in essence, how a bad thing could happen to someone who hasn't done wrong," Mr. Raider said. "However, not everything bad happens because a wrong was done. Like the one blind man that Jesus healed. He had been blind from birth, and as Jesus and His disciples engaged with him it was speculated as to what sin had caused him to be blind, however, Jesus said that the man's blindness was not because of sin, but because God would be glorified. Not everything that is perceived ill is done because of a sin, some is done for God's glory. And so not everything that is perceived good is done for blessing, as it can also be a curse, such as someone receiving a lot of money, but having no friends."

Ivy nodded, although she wasn't entirely sure she followed.

"What I am saying, is that Thomas' death did not necessarily come because he had been unrepentant," Mr. Raider went on. "Although we cannot know his heart ourselves to know for certain, by his testimony we can draw the conclusion that it was not due to unrepentant behaviour on his part."

She followed now, and nodded again.

"And I, for one, doubt that there was any sin in your heart, or in the heart of any of Thomas' relations for which God killed him," Mr. Raider added, looking at her in the eyes. "Being as Jesus died the Perfect Sacrifice for the forgiveness of all sins, I have my doubts that God would kill anyone else for other people's sin."

Mr. Raider's gaze was particularly intense, but Ivy faced it determinedly.

"In fact, I believe that God ordains to each man a certain sum of days," Mr. Raider said. "He knows our days, and when it comes that our days have reached their sum, we expire. The details are known by God, but that is what I believe. And Thomas' days were a sum of barely twenty five years."

"He would've been twenty five in August," Ivy replied flatly.

"Well then his sum was less than twenty five years," Mr. Raider said. "That leads to the answer to the core question — why did Thomas die? — being quite elementary: because God allotted only twenty four years and nine months to his days. But, of course, that leads to another question."

"Why?" Ivy asked, quite sure that he wanted her to supply it.

"Yes, why did God only give Thomas twenty four years and nine months?" Mr. Raider agreed. "And to that question, I have no answer.""