She had us skip to chapter 11 today. Here we are told that there will be a day to come when God will rightly judge everyone--both those who loved Him and rejected Him. And this got me thinking. You know, it is difficult to rectify the presence of evil--absolute, putrid evil--with the sovereignty of God.
Volumes upon volumes have been written in an effort to grasp this complex co-existence. So my mere blog entry could never do justice to the discussion. But I want throw a couple of things out there for us to ponder.
- There is great evil in this world. Over the past few months I have become increasingly aware of the atrocity of child sex trafficking, not only around the world but in our very nation--the land of the free. It is horrifying to hear the stories and see the faces of these young children in the grip of perverse enslavement. So, the presence of evil is not debatable.
- When faced with incomprehensible matters, we must go back to what we know is True. I believe the Bible to be true. I think Christianity is a reasonable faith. Based upon rational evaluation, I also believe the Bible to be both reliable substantially and piercing theologically and spiritually. That said, the place I return when faced with incomprehensible matters is the Word of God.
- The character of God is a resting place. There are certain aspects of God revealed throughout scripture that bring great peace in the presence of evil or uncertainty. He is motivated by love for His children. His grace is sufficient in trial. He sees all and is our perfect Avenger. He is affected by our pain--moved with compassion. He is good, faithful, righteous, holy, and completely trustworthy. He is all-powerful. This is where we rest.
- There will be a day when everyone will be rightly judged. We see only a vapor of time, God holds eternity in His hands. For us, justice should happen in the now, making the wrong things right. But God's vision is from beginning to end. If we have chosen to love Him, then we are just pilgrims on this earth--this is not our ultimate home. He can be fully trusted with the injustices of this life--even the precious children being exploited.
We are called to seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, and plead for the widow. (Isaiah 1:17) But in so doing, we must trust Him and His character with the outcome. Every human has been given freedom to choose--love Him or not. For those who choose to reject His ways, He sees. Time will unfold. The victory is our faith.
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To find out more on how you can "defend the fatherless" check out http://www.tinyhandsinternational.org/.
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