Learned Something This Weekend
When there's a disaster, like Hurricane Katrina in particular, or maybe even like the difficult weather that has undoubtedly caused heart ache and loss of life in America....anything that is
"close to home" or in a country thought of as a Christian country, where we know good people are. Maybe we know them personally. Or we just know of them. So often, I hear someone will undoubtedly say, "Well, you know, the rain falls on the just and unjust." Sort of like to say, "Well, all those less-good people, and all of those nonChristians deserved it. The good people, and the Christians. Well, they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. God's will is supreme, you know."
Even if they don't quote it directly or know where the verse is, they are quoting Matthew 5:45 "....and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
But this WHOLE VERSE is this:
"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
The parallel passage in Luke 6:35 is this: "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
Do you see that context? In both Matthew and Luke, Jesus is encouraging others to be kind to, do good to, and pray for those that are hurtful to us.
The application is NOT that "Oh, good people just get in the way of God's wrath sometimes." The application is not even, "Oh, bad people just get in the way of God's blessings sometimes."
The application is that God loves us, God loves people, and he blesses people. He does good to those who would do Him harm. And he asks us to pray for those that do us harm, so that He can respond to our prayers and bless those people even more.
Matthew and Luke go on to tell us to be "perfect" and "merciful" as our father in Heaven is perfect and merciful.
God's perfection is based in his love and mercy toward us.
I forget that. I remember God as judge. I remember God as perfectly holy and righteous, and exacting payment where payment is due. I've known for a few years now that I have a horrible habit of twisting scriptures, so that verses that should be understood as, "God loves us so much that he makes sure to meet our every need, regardless of our stand with Him, and He seeks after us to draw us toward Him to show us greater love and mercy.", I do what so many people do, and I say, "God is righteous, and he must judge the wicked, and so just hope and fearfully pray that you don't fall into the path of the wicked when he sends His judgment, and hope that you don't do something foolish enough so that he Has to punish you."
And I got really, really good at it. Maybe it was a spiritual attack outside of my own thinking, I don't know. But it got to the point where I couldn't read my Bible without seeing how much God just hated me, because I always ell short. And I have a really hard time of imagining more than being sort of grudgingly permitted into Heaven because I've accepted Jesus' payments for my sins instead of choosing to pay for them myself. And all I want is to be able to fellowship with Him again like I used to. I want to abide with Him as He tells us to do so, but I've been much too scared.
Today I understand how I needn't be scared. And I pray that I can understand that later. Because sometimes I understand a truth, and then can't later. It's a strange disconnect that comes in more than one area of my life, where I've known something, or felt something, or...Something, and can remember that I did, and can even recall facts and details over it, but can't connect to it later, and so can't really "reach" it to understand it later.
Here's to the new week, and maybe another start
"close to home" or in a country thought of as a Christian country, where we know good people are. Maybe we know them personally. Or we just know of them. So often, I hear someone will undoubtedly say, "Well, you know, the rain falls on the just and unjust." Sort of like to say, "Well, all those less-good people, and all of those nonChristians deserved it. The good people, and the Christians. Well, they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. God's will is supreme, you know."
Even if they don't quote it directly or know where the verse is, they are quoting Matthew 5:45 "....and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
But this WHOLE VERSE is this:
"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
The parallel passage in Luke 6:35 is this: "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
Do you see that context? In both Matthew and Luke, Jesus is encouraging others to be kind to, do good to, and pray for those that are hurtful to us.
The application is NOT that "Oh, good people just get in the way of God's wrath sometimes." The application is not even, "Oh, bad people just get in the way of God's blessings sometimes."
The application is that God loves us, God loves people, and he blesses people. He does good to those who would do Him harm. And he asks us to pray for those that do us harm, so that He can respond to our prayers and bless those people even more.
Matthew and Luke go on to tell us to be "perfect" and "merciful" as our father in Heaven is perfect and merciful.
God's perfection is based in his love and mercy toward us.
I forget that. I remember God as judge. I remember God as perfectly holy and righteous, and exacting payment where payment is due. I've known for a few years now that I have a horrible habit of twisting scriptures, so that verses that should be understood as, "God loves us so much that he makes sure to meet our every need, regardless of our stand with Him, and He seeks after us to draw us toward Him to show us greater love and mercy.", I do what so many people do, and I say, "God is righteous, and he must judge the wicked, and so just hope and fearfully pray that you don't fall into the path of the wicked when he sends His judgment, and hope that you don't do something foolish enough so that he Has to punish you."
And I got really, really good at it. Maybe it was a spiritual attack outside of my own thinking, I don't know. But it got to the point where I couldn't read my Bible without seeing how much God just hated me, because I always ell short. And I have a really hard time of imagining more than being sort of grudgingly permitted into Heaven because I've accepted Jesus' payments for my sins instead of choosing to pay for them myself. And all I want is to be able to fellowship with Him again like I used to. I want to abide with Him as He tells us to do so, but I've been much too scared.
Today I understand how I needn't be scared. And I pray that I can understand that later. Because sometimes I understand a truth, and then can't later. It's a strange disconnect that comes in more than one area of my life, where I've known something, or felt something, or...Something, and can remember that I did, and can even recall facts and details over it, but can't connect to it later, and so can't really "reach" it to understand it later.
Here's to the new week, and maybe another start