| Sunday, April 24, 2005 |
| glory |
Drawing by a child survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide from here
Just reflecting off of what i've been learning but having much trouble accepting:
God is glorious and His glory is Not at stake by what we do. No matter what happens, God manages to bring glory to himself. The problem of evil (How can an omnipotent deity allow evil to be rampant?) is not a problem to Him but a problem to us. Through sin and evil, God still manages, although we may never see it, to extract his glory. We can commit countless genocides and still God manages to find glory in the end. It's tough to stomach. God has given us freewill to commit good and evil... unfortunately, it seems that the latter has a stranglehold over the former. Even when we freely choose good, and pray against evil, God does not have to oblige, if it does not run in accordance to His glory... cause we can never understand the full extent of His glory and how it manifests in this world or another. If I pray for a loved one who is sick to get better, getting better does not necessarily run according to His glory. If I pray for a lost soul who is spiritually sick to find the Way, salvation does not necessarily run according to His glory. I can't make any sense of it, and perhaps that is the lesson learned. That Rwanda, Nanking, all the wars and genocides all occur according to His glorious plan... which will never make sense to me because I lack the wisdom to see the bigger picture. And that instead of asking why, I should just throw my hands up in the air in surrender and let God be God and consciously allow Him to do whatever He wants with me... even if it doesn't run in accordance to my own will. |
posted by DarrenGene @ 2:15 PM  |
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| 4 Comments: |
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yeah, i don't get all that either..., but i suppose.., one day we'll find out
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I think this is prob one of the hardest things to understand. Sometimes i feel like there isn't a justifiable reason for all the things that happen in this world. But we somehow try to remember that we live in this fallen world - where God doesn't create the evil - but somehow lets it happen so that we may see future glory. I'm continuing to learn - that as I accept Jesus Christ and the free gift - that my life is no longer my own. That i give my life to Him for His purposes..and at times, or all the times - change my WHY does this happen..to WHAT i can do for my Lord.
Still blurry...but yahh! you should do summer ccf and lead bible studies on these topics =)
Patapoos
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That is one legitimate response.
The other response is to entirely deny God and his existence because it sure doesn't look like He's in much control of anything, what with genocides and terrorism and social injustice. In general, both responses seem plausible and acceptable given the facts at hand. As believers, we have chosen what we think to be true. But to unbelievers, denying God's existence solely based on this issue seems like a logical and understandable position. So, what makes us right, if indeed we are right? If you think about it, what was the reason you chose to have faith in God rather than having faith that there is no God?
It was most likely because God intervened. You experienced God and his goodness. You were shown a glimpse of his glory either through another person or through his creation or what have you, and you couldn't resist wanting to know more. But you would never have known if there wasn't someone in your life that made an effort to let you know about this glorious God. And therein lies our duty; a duty of love. We must live for the glory of God so others have a chance to experience the goodness of God and respond to this question with faith IN God. It's true that God is all about his own glory and he will be glorified regardless of what we do or do not do, but as my man Paul says, "If you don't tell them, how will they know?"
I think it's the perspective we look at it in. We say we don't get it all and we don't. We don't know why genocides and social injustices happen but what we do know is that God is compassionate and I guarantee that if you get into the compassion of God and sacrifice for those under oppression and those who cannot help themselves, you will experience in that moment, the glory of God. That is what we know and THAT is what we have been called to.
All glory, honour and praise to God forever and ever who is and was and is to come.
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amen!