In the face of trials and turmoil, we are prone to ask why a good God allows such things. I am struck by the grim reality that if we could help it our aim would be to eliminate all need for God completely. There is great appeal to us to live in a world without hunger or thirst, a world devoid of natural disasters like earthquakes which cause buildings to collapse or bushfires that consume property and wildlife. We would gladly embrace a society free of conflict and angry rhetoric, a place where all people are loved and accepted with respect. The utopia longed for by many has not been realised despite education, awareness, or effort. Our hearts ache for those who have suffered tragic loss and wonder over the disparity between rich and poor. When it comes to morality one person may grieve over what others celebrate. This world is not what anyone wants it to be.
One thing I have been considering is how the miraculous deeds done by God in scripture have the common threads of His goodness and the great need of people. A miracle is not required when a rich man needs to pay his bills, but when Jesus and Peter needed to pay the temple tax they did not have the money. Jesus directed Peter to go to the sea, throw in a hook, and look in the mouth of the first fish he caught: the money needed for the tax would be miraculously found. A man with barns full of food does not need a miracle to eat, but the children of Israel in the wilderness didn't have sufficient bread or meat. So God caused manna to appear and quail to flutter into the camp daily for 40 years so they would eat and be satisfied. Think about it! Can you think of one occasion when God did the miraculous when there was no need? We are so naturally ungrateful and without trust in God we would prefer there be no need for Him who loves us and has freely given us life. The way we view circumstances may suggest we would rather not have to trust God if we could help it.
Consider what Jesus did in the city of Nain in Luke 7:11-15: "Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. 12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." 15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother." As Jesus arrived at the city, they were met by a funeral procession. Luke tells us it was a dead man who was the only son of his mother who was a widow. There was a woman who had suffered the loss of a husband and also the death of her son. She wept as she walked, and Jesus had compassion on her.
This is what gets me: some people would fault Jesus for having the power to prevent the death of the young man and not saving him before death--like Mary the sister of Lazarus. But God had a plan in allowing Lazarus to die so through his resurrection after four days would prove Jesus is the Messiah and have life through faith in Him. People who blame God as an evildoer for the circumstances He allows do not give Him the credit for the kindness He has already shown and all the good things He has done. I do not hear anyone who has been born again complaining Jesus laid down His life on Calvary for sinners! The passage does not tell us the widow or the townsfolk even had heard of Jesus. Jesus drew near to the mourning woman and said to her, "Do not weep" or "Stop crying." Does that sound insensitive to you? We know it was not insensitive because of what He did next. Jesus touched the coffin and said to the dead man being carried outside the city, "Young man, I say to you, arise." And he did! Jesus then presented the man alive to his mother, turning tears of sorrow to tears of joy.
If we were in Nain and had power to prevent this man's death, we would have made all effort to save him and it would have been right to do so. But Jesus has the capacity to do what we cannot: He can redeem a tragedy which has already occurred and make the result of His miraculous intervention better than if it never had happened! God makes the trial and His redemptive purposes preferable to Him avoiding them. This woman and her son both would have ultimately went the way of the earth in death, but through what Jesus did they may have believed on Him and been granted eternal life! God has the ability to take a series of natural circumstances men would deem tragedies and turn them around for good. When I say "for good" I mean in both the divine and eternal sense as Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Unless God had intervened, we would all be as that dead man, sorrowing and without hope like the widow. But God has shown compassion on us and drew near at our time of need and miraculously opened our eyes to see He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
One thing I have been considering is how the miraculous deeds done by God in scripture have the common threads of His goodness and the great need of people. A miracle is not required when a rich man needs to pay his bills, but when Jesus and Peter needed to pay the temple tax they did not have the money. Jesus directed Peter to go to the sea, throw in a hook, and look in the mouth of the first fish he caught: the money needed for the tax would be miraculously found. A man with barns full of food does not need a miracle to eat, but the children of Israel in the wilderness didn't have sufficient bread or meat. So God caused manna to appear and quail to flutter into the camp daily for 40 years so they would eat and be satisfied. Think about it! Can you think of one occasion when God did the miraculous when there was no need? We are so naturally ungrateful and without trust in God we would prefer there be no need for Him who loves us and has freely given us life. The way we view circumstances may suggest we would rather not have to trust God if we could help it.
Consider what Jesus did in the city of Nain in Luke 7:11-15: "Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. 12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." 15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother." As Jesus arrived at the city, they were met by a funeral procession. Luke tells us it was a dead man who was the only son of his mother who was a widow. There was a woman who had suffered the loss of a husband and also the death of her son. She wept as she walked, and Jesus had compassion on her.
This is what gets me: some people would fault Jesus for having the power to prevent the death of the young man and not saving him before death--like Mary the sister of Lazarus. But God had a plan in allowing Lazarus to die so through his resurrection after four days would prove Jesus is the Messiah and have life through faith in Him. People who blame God as an evildoer for the circumstances He allows do not give Him the credit for the kindness He has already shown and all the good things He has done. I do not hear anyone who has been born again complaining Jesus laid down His life on Calvary for sinners! The passage does not tell us the widow or the townsfolk even had heard of Jesus. Jesus drew near to the mourning woman and said to her, "Do not weep" or "Stop crying." Does that sound insensitive to you? We know it was not insensitive because of what He did next. Jesus touched the coffin and said to the dead man being carried outside the city, "Young man, I say to you, arise." And he did! Jesus then presented the man alive to his mother, turning tears of sorrow to tears of joy.
If we were in Nain and had power to prevent this man's death, we would have made all effort to save him and it would have been right to do so. But Jesus has the capacity to do what we cannot: He can redeem a tragedy which has already occurred and make the result of His miraculous intervention better than if it never had happened! God makes the trial and His redemptive purposes preferable to Him avoiding them. This woman and her son both would have ultimately went the way of the earth in death, but through what Jesus did they may have believed on Him and been granted eternal life! God has the ability to take a series of natural circumstances men would deem tragedies and turn them around for good. When I say "for good" I mean in both the divine and eternal sense as Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Unless God had intervened, we would all be as that dead man, sorrowing and without hope like the widow. But God has shown compassion on us and drew near at our time of need and miraculously opened our eyes to see He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
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