No Exemptions
Previous
The Doctor Is In!
Next
A Bigger Picture
The Doctor Is In!
"For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike."
When a crisis comes into our lives, the first thing we usually ask is, "Why is this happening to me? What have I done to deserve this?" At the outset there are no real answers to questions like this. In fact, it is very unlikely we ever will have the answers to the whys of life until we get to heaven.
Somehow in our minds, we may believe that, as Christians, we are exempt from suffering. We just won't have tragedy befall us. We won't get cancer. We won't have spouses ever leave us. We won't ever have anyone we love die in any kind of accident. We won't have problems with our kids. But no matter how much we may love the Lord, crises will come into our lives. We cannot control that.
Ironically, people said to me after our son went to be with the Lord, "Why has this happened to you, of all people?" I find that to be a curious question, the assumption being that I get a free pass because I am a pastor. But I live in the same fallen world as everyone else. Jesus said the rain falls upon the just and the unjust (see Matthew 5:45).
So I think it is very important not to make the mistake of always trying to find cause and effect for everything that happens. For example, if something bad happens, we may say, "Well, they were evil, and because of that, this came into their lives." That may be true.
However, sometimes bad stuff happens, and there is no cause and effect at all. It is simply because sin is in the world. And because sin is in the world, we have aging and sickness and disabilities and even death. But those things never were part of God's original plan.
Somehow in our minds, we may believe that, as Christians, we are exempt from suffering. We just won't have tragedy befall us. We won't get cancer. We won't have spouses ever leave us. We won't ever have anyone we love die in any kind of accident. We won't have problems with our kids. But no matter how much we may love the Lord, crises will come into our lives. We cannot control that.
Ironically, people said to me after our son went to be with the Lord, "Why has this happened to you, of all people?" I find that to be a curious question, the assumption being that I get a free pass because I am a pastor. But I live in the same fallen world as everyone else. Jesus said the rain falls upon the just and the unjust (see Matthew 5:45).
So I think it is very important not to make the mistake of always trying to find cause and effect for everything that happens. For example, if something bad happens, we may say, "Well, they were evil, and because of that, this came into their lives." That may be true.
However, sometimes bad stuff happens, and there is no cause and effect at all. It is simply because sin is in the world. And because sin is in the world, we have aging and sickness and disabilities and even death. But those things never were part of God's original plan.
TODAY'S RADIO PROGRAM: "The Way to Up is Down, Part 1 — II"
BIBLE READING: John 1-4, 2 Timothy 2
Copyright © 2012 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
A Bigger Picture
Sign up for Pastor Greg's daily devotion e-mails!
Harvest on the go!
Our best content is now in one place on your mobile device to help you know God and make Him known.
Download
