The Washington Post ran an article about Ryan Diviney, 21, a college student who has been in a coma for a year after a terrible beating. His father, Ken, has stayed by his side almost constantly, taking care of him–brushing his teeth, administering 50 medications, feeding him through a tube, bathing him, cleaning him, talking to him, exercising his limbs. He gets no response from his son, yet continues his sacrificial care for his son.

When his children were younger, Ken Diviney spent ten years as a stay-at-home dad. Now he has given up his job to care for his son.

You hear about his love for and commitment to his son, and you think, “He must be a Christian.”

Then I came to this paragraph:

[Ken] no longer attends church. He no longer believes in prayer or the notion that God has a larger plan. He has lost his faith.

“What kind of God would allow this to happen?” the father asks. “What kind of God wouldn’t correct it?”

What do you say to that? Ryan was an athlete, a 4.0 student, an all-around good kid. And then this senseless violence.

The article makes clear that the Divineys are surrounded by Christian people who help out all they can. Yet amidst that, Ken has lost his faith.

It just struck me as very sad. The whole thing. Very sad.

On the other hand, there are people in Darfur and other places who have seen their whole family killed, yet cling even more tenaciously to their faith. What makes the difference? And how would I respond?