Years ago I joined a small group at my church. One of the things that we did was to pray for one another……for strength, for healing, for our friends, and for people we don’t even know.

In order to keep up, I learned to keep a “prayer list”. I think that most of the members of the group did this. Mine is on my cell phone. It has grown to several pages even though I prune it back every now and then. My goal is to pray these prayers every day……..after my Bible reading. You’ve probably already figured out that I don’t always follow through.

Praying for myself and my family is a piece of cake. Praying for the people I know is a little harder. Praying for strangers is harder yet. I have come to think of this part of my morning routine as “the heavy lifting”…….and it is. It is hard work and some days……..I just never get around to it.

Prayers of thanks are joyful…….but prayers of petition can be hard. Praying can be hard work.

Why is it so hard to ask God for a long list of things?

Why does it feel like I’m giving God……….a “to do list”?

I don’t think that it is the time, or the concentration, or the physical effort.

I think it is because, in my heart, I know that I am on a different plane from God. I am small and weak and he is big and powerful. I see myself as Dickens’s orphan asking for more gruel……..a tiny inconsequential blip on God’s enormous radar screen.

Like Wayne in “Wayne’s World”……….”I’m unworthy”.

And that part is true……..I am unworthy.

But……fortunately…….that is only half of the story.

The other half of the story is this:

God loves me……..just as I love my son…….only more so.

I am the son……..of a King……….a King who wants me to succeed in all of the ways that really matter………a King who wants me to experience true joy………eternal joy…….a King who rewards me when I excell……..a King who disciplines me when I fall short………..but a King who loves me wholly and endlessly………no matter how I perform.

If I focus on humility……..on my weakness, I grow the distance between me and God. If I focus on God’s love for me…… on my “sonship”, I diminish that distance.

There is a balance here…..a “sweet spot” between humility and “sonship”. I think that one of the great keys to “right living” is to operate in that “sweet spot”. Prayers of thanksgiving teach us humility. Prayers of petition remind us of our “sonship”.

Both are essential.

In the “sweet spot”……….the “heavy lifting” gets a lot easier.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Paul, NIV

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

John, NIV

“truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them .”

Jesus, NIV

God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Paul, NIV

The old testament is loaded with rules…..laws. I think that we pretty much accept that the law of the old testament has been superceded, at least in part, by the law of the new testament.

Love God
Love your neighbor

I believe that much of the old testament law still holds……for example, the ten commandments. Other parts of the old testament law…….not so much.

Don’t boil a baby goat in its mother’s milk.

Today I want to focus on the old testament law……. prior to the birth of Jesus.

Specifically, how did God feel about all of those rules……. before Jesus…….before the new covenant?

Before love God…..love your neighbor.

Needless to say……. I’m on thin ice here. So you should take what follows with a grain of salt.

I believe that the old testament law was important because God spends a lot of ink telling the Jewish people what they can and cannot do. This includes a very long list of crimes that call for a singularly brutal form of capital punishment…….stoning…….and that list is much longer than our modern list of capital crimes.

So, how serious was God about this list of laws…… especially the death penalty laws?

I believe that God intended for there to be some flexibility in the enforcement of the old testament law. I believe that he intended for there to be some room for mercy. This is clearly true after the arrival of Jesus……in the episode of the adulteress, whom he saved from stoning. Jesus was the epitome of mercy..

But what about before Jesus?

God clearly required flexibility…..mercy in the enforcement of the law BEFORE Jesus.

If the people of Nazareth had rigidly followed the bible………had rigidly enforced the law regarding adultery, they would have hauled Mary out to the local dump and stoned her.

God’s long range plan…….his plan to save us…..clearly required the local authorities of Nazareth to set aside the old testament law regarding adultery. Jesus often railed against legalism. He placed the law of love above all other laws. I think that this reflects God’s heart prior to Jesus as well.

So…….how do we apply this?

I think that we need to be careful when we take someone to task over a rule violation. Don’t get me wrong……the ten commandments stand. But we must be sure that we deal with people who break these rules from a posture of love. After all, God deals with me from a posture of love.

If we get angry with someone because they have an abortion, or have extramarital sex, or steal, or lie, or murder………or even invade the Ukraine……..we may very well be guilty of a greater sin than theirs. We may be guilty of violating rule number two……..love your neighbor.

In the end………..we cannot control them. We can only control how we respond to them.

We are not going to win someone over by beating them up over a broken rule.

And after all……..after loving God and each other…….isn’t that what we’re here for?

Now for the hardest part…………

Perhaps we need to pray for Putin……….

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus, (breaking the law in an act of mercy), NIV

What is the most important thing in your life?

What is the thing that would cause you the most pain if you lost it?

I suspect that it isn’t a thing at all.

It is probably a relationship…….your spouse, child, parent, “significant other”.

Considering the list of necessities: food, shelter, clothing, it is amazing that a relationship would be what you prize the most. Yet, if we each look deep inside, that is likely the truth.

Would you rather go hungry, or lose your spouse?

Would you rather be homeless, or lose your child?

Would you rather wear used and donated clothing or lose your parent?

How can this be?
Darwin must be rolling over in his grave.

I believe that the most important truths in our lives are “written on our heart”. They are hard wired into our being. They were put there………by our creator.

Furthermore, I believe that these “most important” truths are a direct reflection of the heart of God………because we were made in his image.

The amazing truth is………that we instinctively know God’s heart.

The love of a parent for his/her child.
The understanding of right and wrong.
Joy
Justice
Mercy
Love
Generosity

Unfortunately, we have also learned some bad things along the way. This calls for some discernment. But it really isn’t too hard to sort out the good and the evil sides of our nature. It really isn’t too hard to spot “the dark side of the force”. This evil does not come from God.

So……if relationship is so important to us…….if the need for it is written on our hearts……….if that need is a reflection of the heart of God……..then relationship must be important to God.

Then relationship with you……. individually…….. must be important to God…….so important that he would suffer crucifixion in order to salvage it.

In a word, God wants relationship. He wants to be close to you…….. closer than any human relationship you have ever experienced. That is the purpose of creation……your personal creation.

God created you for one reason only………to be his friend.

GOD CREATED YOU……..TO BE HIS FRIEND.

You were created to love God and to be loved by him…….and then to love your fellow man. If you feel that your life lacks purpose, then you need to revisit this fundamental truth……..because your only true purpose is to love and be loved by God. The rest is just window dressing.

Paradise is the fulfillment of that love, that friendship. Hell is the total absence of that friendship.

God has three faces: father, son, and spirit. Father and spirit and hard to get a grip on. So when I am struggling, I focus on the Son…….Jesus. I focus on his desire for relationship…….with me personally. I focus on his love for me………..and I try to be worthy of it.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

James, NIV

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

Jesus, NIV

In a recent post, I spent some time on the soul and how having a soul separates us from other animals and from things…….how having a soul makes man unique on this planet……..and quite possibly in the universe.

But what is your soul? What are its characteristics?

Here are a few of its features:

It is permanent………eternal. You can ignore it……but you cannot get rid of your soul…….and, perhaps more importantly, you cannot get rid of mine. You cannot define away somebody else’s soul. This was tried in the antebellum South…….and, to an extent, still goes on today in the abortion debate. Because it is eternal, you cannot destroy it. Even your death will not destroy it. As near as I can tell, even God does not destroy souls.

Your soul existed before you did…….it existed before you were conceived. This is why abortion is a problem for Christians. This is why abortion is a problem for everyone. In a way, your body is a temporary vessel that contains your soul.

It is precious………the most valuable thing that you posses. In fact because your soul is so valuable……..you too are valuable……..but, so is everybody else. No matter how low on the totem pole somebody is……..no matter how offensive their behavior………they too are valuable. This may be why even God does not destroy souls. Your soul is more valuable……..more important……..than your body.

It was created by God. In a manner of speaking, it belongs to him………..and he can do with it as he pleases.

It has a destiny……..in fact it has one of two destinies…….paradise and hell.

Your soul guides you in your behaviour……but it does not dictate your behaviour. It is very easy to override the guidance that your soul provides. The first time you do this it is vaguely uncomfortable. Unfortunately, the more often you ignore your soul or override it, the easier it gets. Of the person who listens to his soul and hurts when he overrides it…….we say he has a conscience. Of the person who habitually ignores it…….we say “he has no soul”………but of course he does have a soul, he just keeps it locked away where it cannot interfere with his appetites.

You and your soul are inseparable. God created your soul. But, you manage it……every day……and you are responsible for how you manage it. You are solely responsible for its destiny. Because what happens to your soul affects you, the fate, the destiny of your soul represents your future.

You need to safeguard your soul.

By safeguarding your soul, you safeguard its destiny…….you safeguard your destiny.

whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Jesus (explaining the value of your soul), NIV

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Jesus (describing souls in heaven and hell), NIV

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;

God (explaining Jeremiah’s soul to him), NIV

The world is stuffed full of living things……from our child to the mold we continually scour out of the shower.

But, we know with absolute certainty that we……mankind…..are somehow different from all other living things………not to mention non-living things. And we act that way……..all day…….every day.

But…….if you are a true secular humanist, there is no fundamental difference between man and all other living things. There is no fundamental difference between me and the bacteria in my colon. Both are biochemical accidents, both grow, both reproduce, both adapt to their environment, both come from the same ultimate original primitive life form. In a word……..I am a very distant cousin of the bacteria in my colon.

To the true secular humanist, all living things are on the same plane. This is the realm where the idea of animal rights flourishes. I recently heard an interview where the interviewer told a vegetarian that some plants were “sentient”….capable of sensing and reacting to their environment. This caused a crisis………she couldn’t kill and eat a sentient animal………but now plants might be sentient too?!?

A true secular humanist limits their understanding to those things that can be explained by physical science. But, physical science offers no clear distinguishing characteristic to separate man from other life forms. I have even heard theories that blur the line between living and non-living things. The prion, the virus, even the computer virus…….these all have some of the features of life. One author concluded that computer viruses are alive. So…….if animals have rights……..does a computer virus have rights?………..how about the covid-19 virus?

Sentience is about as close as secular humanism comes to a dividing line that can distinguish between man and everything else……….and this is a slippery slope. In practice, the dividing line of sentience is where ever you need it to be. Sentient beings are like us and therefore require special treatment…….rights. For the carnivor…..a cow is not sentient enough. For the vegetarian, plants are not sentient enough. For someone who is planning to starve, all living things are sentient. For the pro-choice voter, a human fetus is not sentient enough.

After all, according to science……..according to secular humanism, even viruses and bacteria can sense their environment, learn from it, and change in response to it………just like us. To a degree they are all sentient.

If you are living as a secular humanist, there is no intellectually honest difference between man and all other living things.

But man is different. And the hard truth is that Secular Humanism…….science……has no answer to this crucial question:

WHAT MAKES MAN DIFFERENT?

But, Christianity has an answer.

The answer is the human soul………and along with the soul, the source of the soul, the creator……..God.

The thing that makes man different is his soul. The failure of secular humanism is that, because science cannot detect……because science cannot measure the human soul, it denies the existence of the soul…….and therefore, its creator…….God.

The problem is this: it turns out, that it is very difficult to function in a “soulless” world. Because secular humanism gives us no clear dividing line between man and other living things, we have to create arbitrary divisions. We generally put these divisions wherever we need them to be……..in order to get what we want. It’s OK to kill a cow or a chicken, so it’s OK to kill a deer, but it’s not OK to kill your wife, but it is OK to kill your unborn child.

This is dishonest.

Secular humanism is dishonest.

If you are a secular humanist……..and if you are honest……you must act as though you have a soul. You must treat me as though I have a soul. Even worse……you must treat the guy who cut you off in traffic as though he had a soul.

To function in society, you must act as though you have a soul.

Maybe this is telling you something.

and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Solomon, NIV

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

David, NIV

God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Moses, ASV

“God uses broken people.”

If you are a Christian you often hear this phrase. It is not a phrase that usually catches my attention. My response is usually something on the line of……..ok…..so….. next.

This week I am reading the writings of David in Psalms. David repeatedly thanks God for blessings, recaps his triumphs, and calls death and damnation down on his enemies.

God repeatedly rescues David, promotes his interests, and blesses him. God uses David to build Israel.

But…….David is the “poster child” for the “broken man”.

We meet King David on a fine spring day in his palace…….where he is a coward, voyeur, adulterer, liar and, ultimately, a murderer. In a few introductory paragraphs, he violates about half of the ten commandments. Later, he occasionally shows mercy to Saul, but, on balance David really isn’t a very nice guy.

There are many others:

Adam was disobedient.

Jacob was a liar and a cheat.

Noah was a drunk.

Rahab was a prostitute.

Solomon was promiscuous.

Judah had sex with his daughter in law.

Peter denied Jesus.

Judas betrayed Jesus.

I could go on.

We look at these people…….and we say, “OK, I may mess up from time to time……but I never did that!”

The first simple fact is this:

God uses broken people because he has no choice…….we are all broken. We shop around til we find somebody more broken than we are. We pat ourselves on the back and say I’m OK…….because I’m better than Joe.

But the second simple fact is this:

On God’s scale of righteousness, there is no meaningful difference between me and David……or Rahab……or Judas…….or Hitler.

How do we deal with this?

First, we have to stop patting ourselves on the back…..we have to stop putting confidence in our own righteousness……….because it isn’t enough…..not by a long shot. We must come to grips with the reality that we are a mess. We are not able to undo the wrongs that we have done, and only God can fix us. We must humble ourselves.

Second, we must open ourselves to the thought of being used…….by God. There is no stain on my character that is so bad that God cannot use me……..or you. Time and again, in the Bible, God approaches a broken man, or woman, with a job to do………..and the broken man says, “Here I am……send me”.

My challenge for all of us is that we must first humble ourselves and then allow ourselves to be used by God.

I have a mallet in my woodshop. It is decades old. It has pounded on tens of thousands boards and tools. It is covered with grime and dried glue. It is chipped and gouged. By any measure, it is an ugly mess. But I use it every day to create beautiful things. If I lost it, I would miss it desperately, glue, gouges, and all.

I hope to someday become such an ugly broken tool in God’s hand.

You can too.

All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.

David, NIV

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Isaiah, NIV

Seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it?

In the Bible, we see a lot of Jesus. We see some of the holy spirit. And we see a bit of God in the old testament.

We see evidence of some of God’s character. He embodies justice and mercy.

We see evidence of his love for us. We see evidence of his patience…….especially when we mess up.

But, who is God?

When asked his identity, his name, God has a two word answer.

I am.

A good name identifies someone, a better name tells us a little about them, a great name tells us the central, dominant feature of their character.

I think that God chose his name very carefully. I believe that the most important thing that you can know about God……….is his name.

I am.

In my reading of the Bible, I have, for years skimmed past this point. It always seemed a little odd, a little arcane. And yet, I am coming to understand that this is the most important statement in the Bible…….the most important fact in all of Christianity……….the most important idea in all of creation.

I am.

In point of fact, this name…….these two words……these three letters……..divides humanity into two completely separate and mutually exclusive camps. It divides humanity into two separate and mutually exclusive destinies.

I am……..versus……..God is not.

The entire old testament fleshes out…..I am. The new testament adds a flourish………you are pardonned…..if you accept……I am. The entire point of the Bible is to explain………I am…….to build a bond between I am……..and you.

Secular humanism/Darwin fleshes out……..God is not. Thousands upon thousands of theories, based on observations, layered on more theories attempt to explain why we are here. But, the central tenet, the one rule that overrides all of secular humanism/Darwin……..is this:

THERE IS NO GOD.

Any explanation that includes God, any theory that includes God, is rejected out of hand…….is not even investigated.

In a word……..in the world of secular humanism……….God is simply against the rules.

Some try to split the difference……..to believe in both God and secular humanism/Darwin. This is dishonest and maybe even a bit cowardly. I know, because I tried to do it for decades. I finally realized that the mental gymnastics that this requires is extreme.

The hard truth is this. The choice is binary……..God either is or he isn’t. There is no middle ground. You must chose……..one camp or the other………one destiny or the other. And, like it or not……..ignoring the question, as many of us do……is to decide by default………that God is not.

So, back to the question.

The answer to the question “Who is God?” is in his name.

I am.

God is. This is the most important thing that you need to know in your life……..in this world.

And this answer comes from God himself.

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

God, NIV

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus, NIV

“before Abraham was born, I am!”

Jesus, NIV

To begin with, I don’t claim to be a Bible scholar. So….I’m on thin ice here. Take this for what it’s worth.

My daily reading this week includes Job. I have often thought that this book is the “wordiest” book in the Bible. The writer uses an enormous amount of florid language and repetition. So much so that my eyes tend to glaze over and I miss the key points. Moreover, the writer never seems to get around to answering my central question………Why so much suffering?

So…….the object today is to cook Job down to the essentials.

The book of Job……..abridged:

God – Job is blameless and upright.
Satan – Only because you have blessed him.
God – OK……then test him.

and Satan did.

Job’s wife – curse God and die.
Elephaz – God is good, you aren’t, do better and he’ll fix it.
Bildad – you are a worm, if you are good, God will fix it.
Zophar – you are a sinful fool.
Elihu – you are a wicked, rebellious fool.

God – your friends are the fools.
Job – my “friends” are no help.

Job – This is so unfair. God doesn’t seem to be paying attention. I know I will someday see God…….though right now I can’t find him.

God – you don’t have a clue as to what I’m up to. How can you know justice?

Job – Only God has wisdom…. the closest I can get is to fear God and shun evil.

Job – I’m sorry Lord……. you are sovereign.

And then God fixed everything.

And he never did say why.

The End

So…..the moral of the book of Job is this:

A sovereign God doesn’t owe us an explanation. We can’t expect to understand what he is doing.

And most important of all…….. we don’t get to pass judgment on what God does or doesn’t do.

WE DONT GET TO PASS JUDGEMENT ON GOD.

Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.

David, NIV

All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: “What have you done?”

Nebuchadnezzar, after his period of insanity, NIV

But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

Paul, NIV

Spoiler Alert……. I’m going to tell you how the movie ends.

This is arguably Clint Eastwood’s best movie…..by far.

If you’ve never seen it, stop…….watch it and then return to this post.

Gran Torino, at its heart, is the story of the battle between good and evil. It is the story of the battle between God and Satan and it addresses a common idea held by Christians that I think we need to explore.

Who is more powerful?

Who is in charge?

God or Satan.

Just how powerful is Satan.

First off, let me be clear…..God is more powerful…..God is in charge. But…….many Christians act as though they believe Satan is far more powerful than he actually is.

Satan is the incarnation of evil. He is evil…… with an agenda. His work is not random, he pursues a carefully planned long range goal. But, the limits of his power are clearly defined. Satan can only go as far as God allows. This in most evident in the conversations between God and Satan in the beginning of the book of Job. Satan can only harm Job to the extent that God allows. Satan clearly has some autonomy……but………he operates on a leash. And that leash is firmly in God’s hand. Sometimes, it seems that the leash is very long……..but it is there.

Bad things happen…….every day.

Evil unfolds……..every day.

Satan acts……..every day……..but only within the limits that God has imposed on him.

Christians tend to blame every bad thing in our world on Satan……and no doubt he is behind a lot of it. But, I think we tend to give him far too much credit. Remember, he is limited…..by God. He can only go as far as God allows.

Think of the battle between good and evil as a chess game between God and Satan. God advances his queen……Satan takes the queen, kills her. This is a huge tactical win for Satan, it shows his power, he gains points, God is severely weakened. The odds makers in Vegas shift their money to bet on Satan. It looks like Satan has the situation in hand. But, 20 moves later, God advances a pawn, leans forward……..and says check. Satan loses. Mate.

Here is the point.

The disastrous loss of God’s queen, it turns out, was not an indication of Satan’s skill or strength. It doesn’t mean that Satan is a better chess player. It was all a part of God’s plan. The crucifixion of Christ was not an indication of Satan’s power……it was part of God’s plan.

Many of the disastrous things that happen in our world are not due to Satan masterfully executing his plan……they are God working things through.

Back to Gran Torino.

A truly evil street gang relentlessly attacks an immigrant family. The hero has a plan……he knows that the gang doesn’t stand a chance against him. The hero sets it up so that the gang kills him…..in front of dozens of witnesses……just as the police arrive. The death of the hero, it turns out, does not prove the mastery of the gang. It is a win for the hero. His death, on the surface, looks like a disaster. But, in fact, it is the hero working through his plan. His death is the key to the destruction of the gang. Just as Christ’s death is the key to the destruction of sin……and, ultimately, the destruction of Satan.

So……..when disaster strikes……be patient. Remember, God is sovereign. Remember that he is working out a plan…..a plan for your good……..because he loves you and cares for you…….even if you can’t see it.

Remember………Satan doesn’t stand a chance.

The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he(Job) has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger .” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

God allowing but limiting Satan’s first attack on Job, NIV

The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, he(Job) is in your hands; but you must spare his life .” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

God allowing but limiting Satan’s second attack, NIV

I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

God, NIV

Sounds like a contradiction doesn’t it.

How can evil be necessary?

And what is evil anyway?

It turns out that evil is anything that I really don’t like.

The Bible is full of episodes where something evil happens……a righteous person suffers a grevous wrong. And then as everything unfolds, it becomes clear that the bad thing was a necessary prerequisite for a subsequent triumph. The bad thing was merely a single link in a long chain of events that turned out well.

Sometimes, a good ending cannot occur without a bad precursor.

Joseph was sold into slavery………Israel was saved from starvation.

Esther was orphaned, adopted, and forced into a king’s harem……she becomes queen and saves the Jewish people from genocide.

Ruth’s husband and father die and she was left destitute and probably homeless. She marries Boaz and becomes a link in a family tree that leads to Jesus.

The states of Israel and Judah were destroyed and the Jewish people are dispersed……first by Assyria, then Babylon, and finally by Rome…………this spreads monotheism and effectively ends polytheism in Europe.

Paul was imprisoned……….his prison letters comprise much of the new testament.

Jesus was brutally crucified…….we are freed from sin.

Adam and Eve ate the apple and were thrown out of Eden…….humanity acquired free will. From that point on, our relationship with God is a conscious choice, not just a part of the landscape. In the ultimate manifestation of free will, we become active seekers of God…….not simple, naive, passive bystanders. Instead of being forced or defined into a relationship with God……..we choose it. For believers, this is a far richer relationship than what went on before.

In each of these cases, the horribly evil thing that happened was not just an interesting event in the story, it was an essential prerequisite to the final triumph.

I keep hearing about how God uses bad things for good purposes. But, I can’t help but wonder if these bad events were necessary steps in God’s long term strategy……..from the very beginning. It is hard to believe that Satan pulled off the crucifixion of Christ…….that Satan killed God……..all on his own.

Either Satan gives us lemons…….and God makes lemonade.

Or

God made lemons so that someday he could give us refreshment.

From our side, the distinction doesn’t matter. The moral is that we must be patient. We must trust God…….and his promise.

He will make things right…….in the end.

He always has…….and he always will.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Paul, NIV

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah, NIV

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Joseph, NIV

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Jesus, NIV