Is There a Purpose in All Things?

Is There A Purpose In All Things?

By this I mean is there a reason for everything that happens? Good Grief-I hope not. That would mean that God had something in mind- punishment or learning experiences - when babies are killed in car crashes, or when young people die in war, or when fires, landslides, and volcano eruptions destroy homes. I could not respect nor love a god who did things like that. I could be very afraid of him.
By the same token, He does not favor some of us over others. He did not make a lavish lifestyle in the United States to favor us over Mexico or Bangladesh. Lifestyles in the US are the result of many fortuitous occurrences, but not God’s favor. He does not love us any more or any less than other people in other places. In a war, everyone thinks God is on their side. (Bob Dylan said that.)
Where do the good and bad events in our lives come from if not from God? They come out of the Chaos from which God created the universe. Notice that both Good and Bad come from Chaos. The creation process did not do away with Chaos; it is still operational in our world as we can all bear witness of. There is a randomness to our lives that cannot be explained any other way, even if there is a truly micromanaging god. When God gave humans free will, there could be no taking back. It seems that the rest of creation has some degree of free will also and that throws another dimension in play.
Is there a purpose to all things is the wrong question. The right question is what is the purpose of God? That one has an easy answer. God loves and cares for us and helps us through all the good and bad that come to us in life. I believe what is important is our own reactions to the events and problems we face. That is what God cares about and is where our energy should be focused.