I recently read the letter that Pastor Saeed
Abedini (who has been in prison for two years in Iran because of his faith in
Jesus) wrote to his 8-year-old daughter for her birthday. I was so touched by this father’s desire for
his child to trust the Lord Jesus even when she can’t understand the “why” of
things.
God doesn’t fit in the box of our understanding,
and it is this truth that stumbles so many.
We look at the world around us and see wickedness and suffering that is
indiscriminate. “Innocent” people and
“good” people suffer right along with the wicked. We just can’t rectify this fact in our
reasoning with the actions of a sovereign righteous God. Therein lies the problem—our limited
abilities to reason and understand. God
is very clear in His word that it is beyond our ability to fully understand His
thoughts and ways.
Isaiah 55:8–9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the
LORD. For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
than your thoughts.”
God created man with the freedom and ability to
make choices. He allowed us that freedom
so that we could experience His love and not live as automatons. He placed man in a beautiful garden with the
freedom to enjoy it all with only one prohibition. Amazingly, instead of reveling in such love,
man chose not to trust God when confronted with Satan’s lies; he chose to put
his faith in Satan. That sin resulted in
the spiritual death of man and the resulting consequences affected the world
around him as well. Man would have to live
with the ongoing effects of evil and decay.
Things got so bad that God in his mercy wiped out
all living things on earth and gave man a fresh start through Noah’s family and
the animals on the ark. What
happened? Once again man chose to
believe he knew better than God what was best.
In selfishness and pride, we have a hard time
accepting responsibility for our actions.
It’s easier to cast the blame on God and question His love and
righteousness. The truth is that all
wickedness and suffering are a consequence of sin—a consequence that affects
all of humanity.
Because of God’s amazing love and grace, He
provided a way to rescue man from sin.
He sent His Son, His only Son, to become a man and a willing sacrifice
to redeem us from sin.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
This salvation is a gift available to every person
born on planet earth, but that gift is only available on God’s terms—through
faith in His Son Jesus.
Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I
am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Once again I hear the voice of the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 55:6–7 “Seek ye the LORD while
he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD,
and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon.”
As a child of God, I am so thankful to know that
in the midst of it all, God is in control.
He is always working to accomplish His will in spite of and through the
choices of man. He never allows the
consequences of sin to touch the life of His child without a purpose for
good. Because we are so limited in our
understanding, we often struggle with that truth. God’s word gives us the truth to which we
must cling.
1 John 4:8 “…God is love.”
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must
believe that he is, and that he
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Romans 8:28 “And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose.”
2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is
sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
John 16:33 “…In the world ye shall
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
John 14:1–3 “Let not your heart be
troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many
mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
Come,
Lord Jesus!
No comments:
Post a Comment