Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church in California, and author of The Purpose Driven Life, will appear on CNN’s Larry King Live Dec. 25.
Warren will be part of a show focusing on Ryan Corbin’s miraculous recovery from a brain injury. Corbin is Christian entertainer Pat Boone’s 25-year-old grandson and his parents, Lindi and Mike Corbin, are members of Saddleback.
“The entire program is a wonderful witness of Jesus,” Warren said after the show’s taping Dec. 5. “The Boones shared their testimonies about the role of faith and prayer in Ryan’s recovery.”
During the show, King asked how the Corbin family could cope so well during such a tragedy. Warren’s response: “People who have a strong relationship with Jesus Christ tend to handle pain differently.”
Warren offered two reasons why strong believers in Jesus are not devastated by tragedy.
First, he said they have a personal relationship with God to lean on, not just a religion of rules. Second, Christians understand God’s purpose for their lives is greater than the problems they face. “People can handle incredible pain when they know there is a purpose behind it,” he said.
To King’s question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Warren replied, “If we knew why everything happens when it happens, then we’d be God. But we’re not God, and so we have a limited capacity for understanding why things happen.”
In addition, explanations won’t take away the pain. “Even when we know why a tragedy happens, it still hurts,” Warren said. “Instead of asking ‘Why?’ it’s more helpful to ask ‘How?’ and ‘What?’ How can I grow from this situation, and what does God want me to learn from it?”
Corbin fell through a skylight located on the top of his three-story apartment building in Brentwood, Calif., on June 19, 2001. He was in a coma for four months and continues a slow — yet miraculous — recovery.
(BP)
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