When bad things happen to good people

Matthew 5:45 - He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Why do bad things happen to good people? There is not always an easy answer but I would like to share a thought on the subject. We live in an imperfect world. Much of what is wrong in our world is a product of mankind's sinful state. That does not mean that any individual person has sinned more than another. It means that the evil in our world is a product of man's original sin.

God created a perfect paradise for man to live in. Adam and Eve introduced sin to the world and our world drastically changed. We don't know all that the change entailed but we can deduce a few things. Before this time there was no sickness, no death, no pain, etc. The ground grew only good fruits. Thorns and thistles are part of  because of the curse that sin brought (Genesis 3:18). Basically everything bad happened because of sin. I am convinced their were no poisonous spiders and no deadly snakes. Everything was perfect!

What about sickness? Why do some people suffer sickness when others seem to be well their whole lives. Is it because of personal sin? In John 9:3, the story of a man born blind, Jesus made it clear that sickness is not necessarily caused by personal sin. Rather we humans are products of thousands of years of humans living under the curse of sin. People with high blood pressure have children and pass the trait on. Two people whose genes aren't compatible get married and they have a handicapped child and so forth. And yes we know that certain lifestyle choices do make things worse but this is not always the case either. We see seemingly healthy people get stricken with cancer while others are spared.

There is a temptation in our world to blame things on God. God, why did you let this happen? The bottom line is that God gave man a free will. Unfortunately, man chose to participate in sin and allow evil to enter our world. Much that we suffer  is a result of that evil and not a result of God's judgment.  The struggles we go through are usually neither our fault nor God's fault but the result of an imperfect world.

So does this mean God is absent from the whole process. No it doesn't. He is able to heal. Many of us can attest to witnessing great miracles. But God doesn't always heal everyone and many times we don't understand why He doesn't. One thing I can say is that God is fair and just. He never makes mistakes. We must be careful not to blame God by saying He isn't fair or just. Why does he allow bad things to happen to the righteous. It may be to show the unrighteous that He is fair.

There are people who have been faithful to God through very difficult circumstances while others turn their backs on God in the slightest trial. By allowing His children to go through difficulty, God is assuring the sinner that He will not be able to claim innocence on judgment day. He will not be able to say He couldn't live for God because life was too hard. God will be able to point to others who were faithful unto death and use them as an example of faithfulness. Just thing about it - you may be in a trial and wondering what you did to deserve this. It probably doesn't have very much to do with you. It maybe that God is using you as a testimony of His faithfulness to someone else.

We often pray for God to use us for His glory. We want to witness to others and win souls to Christ. Yet we don't often consider that the trials we go through might be God's way of using us. What greater testimony is there to the unbeliever than to see a Christian persevere under great difficulty. The next time you find yourself in a trial you might want to consider this: "God, am I being used to show your faithfulness to another?" If so, give me the strength to endure so that someone else will see your glory in the miracle.

Yours in Christ's Service,

Rev. Sullivan Jones






 

Do we all have a mansion in heaven?

John 14:2 - In my father's house are many mansions ...

I recently read a story about an American living in Japan who became confused about the meaning of mansion. It seems the Japanese have adapted the word mansion (manshon) to mean a private apartment. In his perplexity the man did some researching and arrived at the conclusion that this more closely resembles the original meaning. The word mansion comes to English from the French word "masion" which means house. In time, one of its uses came to be mansion-house to refer to a grand manor and this is the usage that came to America. We Americans like to shorten everything so we dropped "house" from the expression and mansion came to mean the abode of the rich.

But is that the meaning conveyed in John 14:2? The Greek word moné actually means dwelling places. The usage is somewhat like the Japanese one for a private house or apartment. So what exactly did Jesus mean? A look at the context will help us to understand His intended meaning.

Jesus was speaking in John 14 of his ascension to heaven and the promised sending of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the heart of the believer. He says specifically in verse 17 that though this Spirit dwelled with them (Jesus was with them) but He would one day dwell in them. While Jesus was on the earth God's Spirit dwelt in only one human being - Jesus himself. But once the Holy Spirit was sent, God's Spirit dwelt in many Spirit-filled humans. Therefore, there were many dwelling places in God's house. No longer does the believer have to be content with having God near but now God lives inside of us all.

There is also another meaning of the English word mansion chosen to translate moné. In the time of the KJV translators many houses were still made from straw, mud, and dung. The word mansion is akin to the word mason which means a hewer of stones. So an early mansion likely meant a house made of stone. It was a more permanent home. This meaning can be seen in Jesus' conversation with his disciples. In John 14:16 Jesus tells his disciples that the Holy Spirit would abide with them forever. Though Jesus time among his disciples was short while he was in the flesh, when His Spirit returned to live in them it was a permanent dwelling.

The meaning is clear. The Holy Spirit will never forsake the believer. We can trust in the abiding presence of Christ. God's Spirit is always with us. He will always lead us so long as we are sensitive to his will.

So does that mean I don't get a mansion in heaven? The answer can be found in the description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 20 and 21. The New Jerusalem definitely fits all the descriptions of the "mansions" Jesus spoke about. It is at once a permanent dwelling place and a place of splendor. It will be a place where God's children will live in harmony forever. And it is beautiful to boot.

What a promise the Christian has! God's Spirit lives inside of us, making each of us a mansion in the here and now. And there is a permanent mansion awaiting us in the New Jerusalem! I don't know about you but that excites me! I am a mansion and I have a mansion - what a promise!

In Christ's Service,

Sullivan Jones 

Hurry up, Jesus!

"Hurry up, Jesus!" Have this thought ever crossed your mind? We sense a similar frustration in those who surround Jesus in the story of Lazarus. Remember Lazarus? He is the friend of Jesus who was dead for four days before Jesus shows up and resurrects him. The point seems to be that Jesus intentionally delays his visit to Lazarus. He receives word that his friend is sick but doesn't show up for four days. By then Lazarus is dead. His family is distraught, to say the least. They did not understand that Jesus intended to perform a miracle. They only knew that He had not come when they expected him too.

They just didn't understand!

St. Augustine once said in a sermon, "We are talking about God. What wonder is it that you do not understand? If you do understand, then it is not God." Sometimes God defies, outlasts, or overturns our expectations. But is He any less God? Is He any less at work? John’s gospel assures us that no matter what, Jesus is always working on our behalf (John 5:17).

Waiting. Confusion. Frustration. All we may have are the words of God's love without the immediate evidence of action to back it up. These are occasions and challenges to face the reality of life in this world and the reality that miracles do not always occur in the manner we expect. All we may have is the promise of God's love. Is that enough in your moments of crisis? It's okay to voice our frustrations and anger to God. It's ok not to have all the answers. Indeed, as a result of the death of Lazarus and the desperation of the ones he loved, it is said that Jesus 'also grieved' and 'he cried' (11:33, 35). Perhaps, we can take comfort that when God does not act the way we expect, it is enough to know his love is still there. But if that is still not enough, perhaps we can take solace that Jesus understands our pain. As a man Christ fully experienced our pain both emotionally and physically.

The reality of life is that there will be situations we do not know how to deal with. There will always be situations we do not understand. But who would want to serve a God He can control. I would rather serve an all-powerful God, even if I have to trust without understanding at times. Is there a situation you need some understanding about? Tell Jesus about it today! You might not get the answer you would expect. You just might get something even better!
 Lord, when life spins into a "holding pattern," allow me to trust that you are at work. In the hidden places, the shameful places, the empty places – allow me to trust that you are at work. I ask in the name of Jesus, Amen.