Bad Things, Good People part 1
Why do bad things happen to good people? This is the age old question, right? People thinking that God should keep things from happening--which, by the way, I believe He does a lot of the time. I think we have no idea what all goes on behind our backs or above our heads--or make things happen. Or even people thinking that God uses sickness to... whatever. Punish people? I'm not really sure on that one. I AM sure that sickness doesn't come from God though. James 1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." God is light. There is no darkness in Him at all. In fact, Jesus lays this out for His disciples in what will be our key passage for this Rant series. John 9:1-3, "And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." That kind of blows me away. It wasn't even "Why did God punish this man by making him blind?" It was, "Did God punish this man because of what his parents did?" What a dismal life view. I would be so mad at my parents if God punished me because of them, right? Like... here I am, innocent as a lamb, born without sight because God was mad at my parents? That, quite frankly, is a horrible God--if such a God was to exist. Luckily for us, Jesus came to set the record straight. And, listen, I understand the basis. Exodus 20:5 says, "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the father on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me." But then Ezekiel 18:20 says, "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son." Seems like it could be either way, right? Almost like we need a ruling on it. An authority to tell us the bottom line. Enter... Jesus. Who basically says, "Guys. Life happens. This isn't about sin at all. This is simply an opportunity for God to manifest Himself." And, again, there's this idea that God made the man blind so that God could fix his blindness. But that's dirty pool, man. Creating a problem so you can fix it and look like a hero? Some people might do that. God won't. God set natural laws into motion when He created this world for us. And a lot can be said for what happened when man "fell" and had to exit the paradise of the garden of Eden. But that's another Rant for another day. For today--the guy was just born blind. It happens. People are born with "defects." Or they are born with any number of different things. Autism. Down's Syndrome. Whatever. That's not God punishing anybody. That's just life. Now having said that... Jesus didn't leave the blind man in his "natural" condition. He manifested God. Manifested love. Manifested healing and wholeness in that man's life. So instead of asking why bad things happen to good people... ask, "What can I do to help my brother?" And the answer, as always, is love!