Friday, March 25, 2016

Why doesn’t God fix it? .................. Parables 410

March 1, 1994

Babies die. Children waste away with cancer. Marriages fall apart. Car accidents take lives. People brutally murder other people. Tornadoes destroy people and property. Earthquakes, floods, and fires take their toll. People are trapped in poverty or wheel chairs or pitifully hooked up to tubes. Why doesn’t God fix everything?

Struggling and skeptical people ask how could there be a God when life is so difficult, so painful? How could God be good and still allow all these things? If there is a God, he is not fair. Why doesn’t God fix everything?

Think for a minute what the world be like if He did. There would be no more illness or death, no more economic downturns, no more wars globally or across the breakfast table. No one would ever have an accident or break a bone. There would be more hate. And the weather would be perfect and the environment completely stable. We would like that. All our problems would be over. Or would they?

The greatest difficulty with this scenario is that when God did fix these things, people really did not welcome His efforts. He raised dead children and adults. He healed those with wasting, horrible diseases. He taught people how to love one another. He ordered the wind to stop blowing. He fed crowds with a handful of groceries. He fixed everything.

It was fantastic for a time. People were excited about what He was doing. However, as much as He loved them and wanted them to experience His power and be healed from the damage of life, He was far more interested in dealing with the roots of their problems. These diseases and troubles were merely the symptoms. Like a physician, He knew that no matter how many people rose from the dead, human hearts are sicker than bodies with cancer or leprosy. For that root problem, His fix was repentance and faith in Him.

It was at this the people balked. They wanted everything fixed, but only up to a point. If it meant a change in the way they thought and lived, they were not interested.

It seems that the issue should have ended in a simple stalemate. God wanted to help them, they only wanted a certain amount of help. God would fix as much as they would let Him, and everyone would be happy. Not so.

The people proved the very point God was trying to make. The condition of their hearts was their greatest problem. Instead of a polite “no thanks” to God’s offer, they retaliated against Him. They accused Him of being Satan. They hurled insults and spit in His face. They mocked Him and nailed Him to a tree. Rather than having God fix everything, they killed Him.

We are responsible for the consequences of our choices, not God. If I insist on eating junk food all day, I will develop health problems. Is it fair to God to ask Him to fix that, even though in mercy He might?

My own sin and the sin of other people brings problems into my life. I may not be personally responsible all the time but can anyone ask God to fix the problem without expecting Him to deal with the sin and the sinner(s) that are responsible? Human responsibility consequences make sense.

Actually, there is a day coming when God will make all things perfect. Revelation 21 says, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

His offer is still available.

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