Why Does God Seem So Unjust?

In my Bible reading this morning, I came across the age old question: "Why does life seem so unfair?" In fact, an even more specific, targeted question is: "Why does God let those who oppose Him seem to live without any divine punishment? In fact, many of them do quite well in life."

This very sort of question was posed by Job:

Job 21:7-15 (New Living Translation)

7 “Why do the wicked prosper,

growing old and powerful?

8 They live to see their children grow up and settle down,

and they enjoy their grandchildren.

9 Their homes are safe from every fear,

and God does not punish them.

10 Their bulls never fail to breed.

Their cows bear calves and never miscarry.

11 They let their children frisk about like lambs.

Their little ones skip and dance.

12 They sing with tambourine and harp.

They celebrate to the sound of the flute.

13 They spend their days in prosperity,

then go down to the grave in peace.

14 And yet they say to God, ‘Go away.

We want no part of you and your ways.

15 Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him?

What good will it do us to pray?’

Here are a few personal reflections in response to Job's question:

1. It only SEEMS that many folks go through life without trouble. That is a faulty perception. In truth, everyone (righteous and wicked - and everyone in between) experience trouble in life (Job 14:1).

2. God's patience and love for His creation keeps Him from immediately dealing with wrongs. Because He loves the world (John 3:16) and longs for people to repent, He is long-suffering with even the wicked and gives them time to return to Him (2 Peter 3:3-10).

3. Ultimately, the Day of Judgment will right all wrongs. There is coming a day when every knee will bow before God and give an account of their life. Those who are saved will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:6-10) and those who are unbelievers will be at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). This accounting with be so thorough that even the casual words that we speak will be weighed in God's righteous courtroom (Matthew 12:36).

4. This is why we can forego treating even our worst of enemies with cruelty (Romans 12:19-21) and why we can forego immediate approval for our righteous deeds (Matthew 6:1). We know that one day, we will stand before Jesus. On that day, He will punish all wrongs and reward all rights.

So, does it seem that sometimes those who live a godly life experience more than their fair share of trials and some folks who stiff-arm Jesus experience more than their fair share of successes? Just wait, my friend. One day, our God will make all things right.

In the meantime, we should strive to share the Gospel and take as many as we can to the Judgment Seat of Christ!

When God looks at me, He sees Jesus!

Have you ever been reading through the Bible when a verse "jumps off the page"? I mean, it causes you to stop immediately, reflect and say, "WHOA! That's amazing!!!"

I just happened to me again!

As I read through John 20, I came to the part where Mary Magdalene was at the tomb and saw Jesus. (By the way, God goes out of His way to show the value He places upon women in the Bible. One of the many ways He does so was by making it clear that a woman was the first one to see the resurrected Jesus and tell others about it [John 20:11-18].)

Well, as Mary Magdalene recognizes the resurrected Jesus for the first time at the tomb, she apparently gave Him a big hug or fell at His feet and embraced his feet in worship. This was a worshiper who was overwhelmed that her revered Teacher ("Rabonni!") was alive!

So, Jesus told her to let go and then He said something else. He said that He was heading back to Heaven soon to be with His Father and His God.

Yet, He didn't say it quite like that. He said it in a way that made it clear that followers of Jesus have no less access to God than Jesus does. When God looks at us, who have submitted to the authority of Jesus over our lives, He smiles just as much as when He looks at His Son.

I LOVE the following phrase: "and your"!

John 20:17 (New Living Translation)

"'Don't cling to me,' Jesus said, 'for I haven't yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." ' "

The mystery of our incredible relationship with God (that we cannot possibly fathom in this life) is tied up in the words "in Christ" that is found so often in Ephesians chapters 1 and 2. Because we are saved and "in Christ," we have more privileges and worth than we could ever possibly imagine.

Hey, are you a follower of Jesus? If so, you've got some amazing things that are true of you! Live up to it! Act like who you are!

Why we need accountability partners

Before I go out for the day, I do what most wise husbands do - I ask my wife how I look.

After all, my extent of colors is limited to those found in an 8 pack box of Crayola crayons. Kim is much better qualified to tell me if my clothes match. If she takes a look at my attire and gets a pained look on her face, I know I chose poorly. If I want to avoid getting the same look from many of the folks I meet that day, I would do well to listen to her assessment and make the necessary adjustments.

Living as a follower of Jesus is much like that. More times than not, we may be blind to our own mess-ups. We are engaged in sin or are on the slippery slope toward some grievous sin and may not realize it. That's when we need other believers to take a look at us and give us an accurate assessment of what they see. 

No one likes to see it but they may get a pained look on their face as they look at us. But, let's be real - the pained look isn't the real problem. The real problem is what has caused that pained look.

The wise response is not to get upset at that Christ-follower for pointing out some error in our life. The wise response is to make the necessary adjustment.

Unfortunately, too many folks are saturated with pride. Instead of making the adjustment, they get angry at the one who notices the problem.

2 Chronicles 36:11-13 (New Living Translation)

"Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and he refused to humble himself when the prophet Jeremiah spoke to him directly from the LORD. He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty in God’s name. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to the LORD, the God of Israel."

So, are you being held accountable by at least one other Christ-follower (not including your spouse)? Have you given at least one other person the right to address problems in your life and be honest with you regarding what they see?

How do you respond when a Christ-follower points out some error in your life? Do you humbly make the necessary correction or do you get angry?

If your response is typically anger, people will stop telling you where you need to make adjustments. Without that needed feedback, you could wake up one day and wonder how you got so far away from the Lord. Others could have spared you that wasted time away from the Lord.

Do yourself a favor and listen to fellow Christ-followers when they give you feedback on what they see in your life. You are the one to benefit from the feedback.

How do I know that I love Jesus?

How do we know that we love Jesus?

This is really important because if you don't love Him, you aren't a child of God and you are not going to Heaven. When we are saved from the penalty of our sins, God gives us a new 'heart' and we realize that God is to be loved and enjoyed. Love for Jesus is the natural activity of the one who is truly a child of God.

So, how do we know that we love Him?

Is our love for Jesus based simply upon some warm feeling we get inside when we read the Bible or pray? Is it the supposed happy feeling we get when we sing in a worship service?

Quite simply, we know that we truly love Jesus when we obey His teachings. (Obedience is not love; it is, however, the natural response of love for Jesus.) That means we study His Word to know what He has said and then do it.

Of course, there will periodically (maybe often) be feelings of affection for our God. Yet, the true tell-tell sign that we love Jesus is based upon our answer to this question: "Am I reading God's Word and obeying it?"

John 14:21 (New Living Translation)

Jesus said: "Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them."

Loved ones are mourning the deceased and Jesus gets angry? What?!

Did Jesus ever get ticked? I mean, was there ever a time when Jesus got so angry that those around Him noticed?

Some would immediately respond "Yes" and say that He was angered when He cleared the Temple of those who had turned it into a marketplace that distracted from worship. Yet, none of the four Gospel accounts tell us that Jesus was angry when He cleared the Temple (see Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46; John 2:13-17). In fact, the only emotion that Jesus was said to have as He cleared the temple was "zeal" (John 2:17).

So, did Jesus ever get angry?

Yes ... and it was at a place and time where we would have least suspected such an emotion.

It's found in John 11. Jesus was at the tomb of His dear friend, Lazarus.

John 11:31-33 (English Standard Version)

31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

Do you see the words "deeply moved" in verse 33? That word can also be translated "indignant." In fact, the New Living Translation says: "When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled."

Why in the world would Jesus get angry when people around him were sick with grief over the death of a dear loved one?

Well, if we go through the possibilities and check off those that aren't viable, we end up with this: Jesus was angry at sin and its consequences. If Adam had not sinned in the Garden of Eden, sin and death would not have spread to mankind. If that had never happened, Mary and Martha would have had no reason to cry. They would have had no reason to experience the unspeakable grief that only those who have lost a loved one can understand. I think Jesus' heart broke (John 11:35) for Mary and Martha as He saw them crying and He was angered at the havoc that sin had brought into the world.

Friend, that's why Jesus came to live, die, and rise again. He came to conquer sin and death (read 1 Corinthians 15). He came so that those who believe in Him will one day get to be with Him in a place where there is no more sin or consequences of that sin.

So, does it bother you that you live in a world that is so sin-sick? Does it break your heart when you see all of the sickness, pain, sorrow and death that has come to be a part of every human experience? Are you looking forward to the day when all things will be made new?

So is Jesus, my friend. So is Jesus.

Sin, God's discipline and restoration

Did you know that there is comfort to be had when, after you sin, God disciplines you?

“How is that possible?!” you may ask. Well, it simply shows that God really is your Heavenly Father. It reveals that you really are God’s child and Heaven is really is going to be your eternal home.

Because if God does not discipline you when you sin, you are not His child…

Proverbs 3:12 (New Living Translation)

“For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.”

Hebrews 12:5-8 (New Living Translation)

“And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,

‘My child, don’t make light of the LORD’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.’

As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all.”

So, God’s discipline assures us that we really are His children. But, we don’t want to remain in His discipline. We want to get right with Him so that discipline can stop. How do we do that?

In my Bible reading this morning, I came across the story of Solomon’s dedication of the new Temple. After a long, celebratory day, the Lord spoke to Solomon in a vision that evening. He conveyed to Solomon that the people would eventually sin and He would need to discipline them. But, He told Solomon how the people could get back into right standing with Him.

2 Chronicles 7:12-14 (New Living Translation)

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”

God provides the remedy:

Humble ourselves – Acknowledge that we have sinned and pridefully stepped out from under God’s authority over our lives. We need to put ourselves back under His authority.

Pray – Talk to Him. Confess where we have sinned and ask for His forgiveness.

Seek His face – Make it our passion to pursue Him until we find Him (Jeremiah 29:13).

Turn from our wicked ways – We cannot simply confess our sins. We must turn from them. It is impossible to follow and enjoy God if we are remaining in sin. We need to have a complete change of heart and turn from what is wrong never to do it again.

So, friend, is God worth it to you? Is He so precious to you that He is worth your life’s pursuit? Is He more valuable to you than any temporary pleasures you can gain in other pursuits?

Then do what it takes to remain in the favor of the God who loves you so much that He died to bring you into relationship with Him both now and forever!

The paradox of the Christian life: Blindness and sight

The paradox of the Christian life is this: If you want to see, admit that you are blind. If you want to remain blind, claim that you can see.

John 9:39 (New Living Translation)

“Then Jesus told him, ‘I entered this world to render judgment – to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.’”

“What does that mean?!” you may be asking.

Well, in John 9, we read about a man who was in a very sad condition. He could not see. In fact, he was born that way. For his whole life, he had never seen a beautiful sunset, gazed upon a majestic waterfall or humbly stared at night into a starlit sky.

So, when Jesus came to him and engaged in the miracle that would restore his sight, he didn’t resist. He knew that he was blind. He would LOVE to be able to see. Since he knew that he was blind, he was more than willing to receive the remedy that Jesus offered.

And this beautifully illustrates the spiritual truth that Jesus was addressing in John 9:39.

When we acknowledge before God that we are guilty sinners who have violated His laws, we are free to receive His gift of forgiveness and new life. However, if we refuse to acknowledge our guilt before a holy God and claim that we are good enough to get to Heaven on our own, we will remain blind.

Do you want to see? Then admit that you are blind.