If God Is Good, How Could This Happen?

I wanted to start this blog with a video by Ravi Zacharias because, in my experience, nobody answers it better than he does. I'm writing this because of the state of our world. On the one hand, today there are new reports of explosions at one of the nuclear plants in Japan, which is still reeling from the after-effects of a massive earthquake and tsunami. On the other hand we have, in effect, a civil war in Libya and civil unrest throughout the Middle-East. We add to this the continuing challenges to our world of HIV/AIDs, starvation, environmental issues and economic concerns and it's little wonder that some ask the question, "if God is good, how could this happen?"

The problem of evil has long been a sticking point for people as they try to understand God. I believe that Ravi handled it much better than I ever could, so I'd like to move on to the follow-up - what is God's answer to evil?

When Jesus walked this planet He said very clearly in John 16:33 - "In this world you will have trouble." We live in a fallen creation, this world is not the "good" world that God originally created. As the guardians of this planet, our mismanagement and rebellion has brought about devastation. That was a result of our choice and our choices. There is a villain in the story who was given entrance through that very first disobedience. Jesus tells us in John 10:10 - "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Jesus here was pointing to a spiritual reality with physical manifestations. We see effects like family breakdown, alcohol and drug addiction, child abuse and other social ills and we ask the question, where is God in all of our human suffering? The answer to the question is found first in the person of Jesus Christ. The Bible speaks of Him as "God in the flesh." As John 1 tells us, He who spoke the world into being, became one of us and lived among us.

For those who say that God does not understand, read the Gospels. Jesus was born to a mother in a socially awkward position, and lived the first few years of his life as a refugee. He suffered with his nation under the iron fist of Rome. He was raised in obscurity, shunned by the "powers that be." When he entered public life he was ridiculed by the religious and political leaders of his time, often because he identified with social outcasts. Though popular for a time, the tide of opinion turned against him when he refused to opt for a military or political solution, yet was seen as a threat to leaders.

He suffered the betrayal of close friends, the hurt of false accusations, the shame of a public trial, flogging, beatings and cruel torture. He then faced the humiliation of a crucifixion, designed to strip the victim of the last vestige of human dignity. He did this while having the power at any time to save himself.

In God's plan, Jesus had to feel the full weight of human pain. As Hebrews 4:15 tells us, he dealt with all that we have to face, yet without sin. He also bore the weight of all of our sin. Not only did he suffer with and for the innocent, but also the guilty, that all can be reconciled to God. Where is God when we suffer - suffering with us? This ought to be seen through his church, as we follow in his steps.

From the very beginning it has been God's desire that His people would model what it means to truly be human. When Jesus announced his ministry, he declared that he had come to "preach good news to the poor... to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:17-21) He was speaking of the establishment of His Kingdom - the renewal of Creation as it was intended to be. Everywhere his people go they are to continue this process - not by force or compulsion, but through serving. I recognize that there is both a present and a future fulfilment to these verses, but for now let's deal with the present.

The early church, at least at times, followed the example of their founder. In Acts we find that those who were wealthy shared with the poor so that none lacked. When Roman women would leave their unwanted babies by open sewers to die of exposure, Christians would take them in and raise them as their own. When epidemics would sweep through towns and villages and the healthy would leave, Christians would stay and care for the sick and dying. They fed the hungry, cared for widows and orphans and accepted outcasts into community. In so doing they changed society.

God's call to us has not changed. Jesus said that "whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."(Matthew 25:45) So, when the question is asked, where is God in all of this that is happening around us, perhaps the question ought to be, what are we doing about it? What ought to be our approach to a world in trouble? In Matthew 7:12 Jesus said, "do to others what you would have them do to you." It was good advice then, and it's just as relevant today. What has God blessed you with? How can you use those resources to best help those who are hurting and in need? Now go do the right thing.

Articles of Interest:
The 'A' Word
Are You Listening?
Follow Me!

The Rebekah Principle

I remember when gas station attendants pumped your gas, cleaned your windshield and checked your oil and fluid levels for you while they were filling your gas tank. (Actually, I was one of those attendants for a while.) Today, the best we can hope for is that they be polite when we go into the gas bar and hand over our money after doing all of those things for ourselves. That's a far cry from the woman in the title of this blog.

I'm not sure who coined the phrase first, but "The Rebekah Principle" is taken from an Old Testament story found in Genesis, chapter 24. It's the story of the selection of a wife for the Jewish Patriarch, Isaac. Abraham had sent his chief servant to find the right woman from his home country. The servant arrived at the well which was a center of activity. The women of the area were arriving to draw water from the well.

A young woman named Rebekah came to draw water and the servant asked if it would be possible for her to draw him some water to drink. She not only drew water for him, but willingly drew water for all of his camels as well. While this encounter is only given a couple of verses in Scripture, it's important to see the details. She drew water for ten camels before she stopped. A thirsty camel can drink up to 30 gallons of water in 10 minutes. But let's say, for arguments sake, that they weren't all that thirsty and drank ten gallons each. That's 100 gallons of water drawn by hand from a well. Even if the well were only a few feet deep, such a commitment would take considerable time, measured in hours, not minutes; yet Rebekah did so willingly.

The result of Rebekah being willing to do more than was required of her was that she was selected to become the wife of Isaac. She will forever be remembered for being willing to go the extra mile: this is the kind of person God uses.

There are a lot of life lessons we can get from Rebekah's example. Here are a few.

"There are no traffic jams on the second mile."
I'm not sure who first said this, but I heard it first from Zig Ziglar. Very simply what it means is that if you want to stand out in whatever field you've chosen, go the extra mile. Do what others are unwilling to do.

I've found that there are at least three different types of people:
1. People who don't do what they're supposed to do.
2. People who only do what they have to.
3. People who do what they are required to do... and then some.

Think about it, which of these people would you want working for you? If you were choosing a company to do business with, wouldn't you choose a business that goes above and beyond; a company that will see that you are satisfied? If you were hiring an employee, would you want the guy who will show up only when it's convenient, or the guy who's committed to get the job done right?

"If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing right."
My mother used to tell me this when I was haphazard in cleaning my room. My response was usually something like "well I guess it's not worth doing then." What do you expect? I was a teenager.

Colossians 3:23-24 says "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." This was Mother Teresa's secret: the people to whom she ministered, in her eyes, represented Jesus Himself. Each of them, therefore, were deserving of all of the dignity and love she could give.

We get one shot at this life, we want to do it well. In fact, there seems to be something built into human beings that takes a real satisfaction in a job well done. I've seen it in sports, the arts, church life and the business world. We were created to be productive and creative, when we aren't we sense the void, even if we can't describe it.

"In order to hear the words, 'well done,' we must first 'well do.'"
There are many principles that flow from this, including "play now, pay later, or pay now, play later." The point is that there are too many people who are not willing to pay the price for achieving excellence, yet who want the reward. This is one of my pet peeves with unions. They have a purpose, but often serve to reward people who are incompetent and lazy.

In our society at large, we find a culture of entitlement that can be stated like this: "the world owes me a living." Uh... wrong. God gives us life, talents and abilities: that is His gift to us. How we use this life and those gifts, talents and abilities is our gift to Him. The Bible is actually very clear about those who are unwilling to do what they are capable of doing. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says "...If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either."

There is so much that needs doing. There are so many challenges that must be met. There are so many hurting people and so many causes looking for a champion. How can we be satisfied to sit back and assume that someone else will do it? Take some time today to think about what it is that you were put on this earth to do. You are not a cosmic accident, you were created by God to do good works. For a clue to what that may be think about these questions: What do you cry about? What do you laugh about? What keeps you awake at night? The answer to those questions often leads to our passion.

Don't settle. Be all that you were meant to be.