I just found out I need a root canal. Fun huh? They prescribed some pain medicine for me to take now -- and also to take when they work me over.
You want to know the funny part? I drove to the dentist’s office and walked right in the front door of my own volition. No one threatened or forced me. I wanted to go because my tooth was hurting and the only way to stop the pain was to go through more pain.
Do you see what I am saying? An oxymoron? Perhaps, but it might help us understand how God can be in control, but allow awful things to happen in his world.
Often, we think we would be happiest if all of our troubles went away. We envision the perfect life as one devoid of difficulty. But that’s simply not true. A life without challenge is not a life worth living. There is no victory without conflict. How boring would it be if you knew your favorite team could never lose? The games would be meaningless and the victories hollow. An abundant life is only possible when it contains conflicts, difficulties, challenges and heartache. That’s the price we pay for living with the possibility.
Don’t get me wrong, I would never in a million years compare the ache of a tooth to the pain a parent feels when she loses a child. I would rather sit in the dentist’s chair the rest of my life than lose a child in a school shooting.
What I am saying is that God knows in his infinite wisdom that we must go through some sorrow now in order to live pain-free in eternity. If he hadn’t given us free will, our love for him would have never been real. But the price of true love and free will is living in a fallen world. You can’t have one without the other. If we could, God would have gone that route to begin with. If Jesus could have avoided the agony of the cross, he would have done so. It is comforting to know we have a God who walked in our shoes and can emphasize with us.
God never promised us a life without suffering. He said, instead, that we would die and that we would have distress. You knew that in the gym, no pain equals no gain. You knew that hunger pains were necessary for a successful diet. You knew the sting of childbirth was necessary to experience the joys of parenthood. Pain, then, has value if it is for a purpose.
The Bible teaches that God plots out our lives before we are born. If we live a century, that’s his plan for us; if we are cut down by cancer or a madman, then our lives stand as a warning to all that life on earth is short and there are no guarantees. Our death would remind others that we must be ready to meet our maker today. Or, it may bring about social change or do some other good. Every life has purpose, no matter how long it lasts. And yes, God even uses evil people for his ultimate goals.
Careful, though, I’m not saying God causes people to commit evil, but I believe he uses everything we do, good or bad, for his final will. In other words, either God is in control or he is not, and I say he is. How he remains in control while allowing us free will in a sinful world is a mystery that I will never fully understand. That’s okay, Paul couldn’t quite see it either. But life without that hope would be like going to the dentist with no anticipation of the pain ever ending.
You want to know the funny part? I drove to the dentist’s office and walked right in the front door of my own volition. No one threatened or forced me. I wanted to go because my tooth was hurting and the only way to stop the pain was to go through more pain.
Do you see what I am saying? An oxymoron? Perhaps, but it might help us understand how God can be in control, but allow awful things to happen in his world.
Often, we think we would be happiest if all of our troubles went away. We envision the perfect life as one devoid of difficulty. But that’s simply not true. A life without challenge is not a life worth living. There is no victory without conflict. How boring would it be if you knew your favorite team could never lose? The games would be meaningless and the victories hollow. An abundant life is only possible when it contains conflicts, difficulties, challenges and heartache. That’s the price we pay for living with the possibility.
Don’t get me wrong, I would never in a million years compare the ache of a tooth to the pain a parent feels when she loses a child. I would rather sit in the dentist’s chair the rest of my life than lose a child in a school shooting.
What I am saying is that God knows in his infinite wisdom that we must go through some sorrow now in order to live pain-free in eternity. If he hadn’t given us free will, our love for him would have never been real. But the price of true love and free will is living in a fallen world. You can’t have one without the other. If we could, God would have gone that route to begin with. If Jesus could have avoided the agony of the cross, he would have done so. It is comforting to know we have a God who walked in our shoes and can emphasize with us.
God never promised us a life without suffering. He said, instead, that we would die and that we would have distress. You knew that in the gym, no pain equals no gain. You knew that hunger pains were necessary for a successful diet. You knew the sting of childbirth was necessary to experience the joys of parenthood. Pain, then, has value if it is for a purpose.
The Bible teaches that God plots out our lives before we are born. If we live a century, that’s his plan for us; if we are cut down by cancer or a madman, then our lives stand as a warning to all that life on earth is short and there are no guarantees. Our death would remind others that we must be ready to meet our maker today. Or, it may bring about social change or do some other good. Every life has purpose, no matter how long it lasts. And yes, God even uses evil people for his ultimate goals.
Careful, though, I’m not saying God causes people to commit evil, but I believe he uses everything we do, good or bad, for his final will. In other words, either God is in control or he is not, and I say he is. How he remains in control while allowing us free will in a sinful world is a mystery that I will never fully understand. That’s okay, Paul couldn’t quite see it either. But life without that hope would be like going to the dentist with no anticipation of the pain ever ending.
1 comment:
good stuff...it doesn't blow as much as your old stuff :)jk
rc
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