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Life can often seem unfair. There are those who make
no pretense of serving God and yet they seem to be
doing well. There are others who are genuinely trying,
but they are experiencing many difficulties and
setbacks.
Job noticed that there were wicked men whose
“houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God
upon them. Their bull breeds without failure; their cow
calves without miscarriage” (21:9–10). Yet he realized
that was not the end of the story.
Even though it may seem that life is not fair, God is a
God of justice.
Ultimately, it is in the resurrection that God will reward
the righteous and punish the wicked. However, there
are many times when even in this life events can make
a sudden shift. The conclusion of the book of Job
reveals, “Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job
more than his beginning” (42:12). In the long run, there
are blessings for obedience—entrance into
the Kingdom of God is the greatest of all blessings—
and curses for disobedience
(discuss C. S. Lewis’ comments on fairness from Mere
Christianity.
Sometimes life seems unfair because it doesn’t fit our
definition of fairness)
Job 14:14 If someone dies, will they live again? All the
days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to
come.
Everything that we face has the potential to be a test
or a temptation. Whether it is a test or temptation is
based on how we respond to it. If it leads us to sin,
then it becomes a temptation. If it leads to building of
character and our faith in Christ, then it is a test. The
language is too loose in the Greek to assign one
meaning or another to whether something is a
test/trial or temptation. The context determines how
we translate the words into English.
However, even though we may not see WHY we are
going through this, we should still see that there is a
positive aspect or side to what is happening to us,
which relates to our RESPONSE.
If you read Job 28, then read job 38ff, the ending of Job
begins to make sense.
Remember the verse earlier about God putting eternity
on our hearts? Here is another take. All of this is stuff
that happens TO us, it is external. What scripture
teaches is that it is the inside that gives us the ability to
face up to evil and suffering when we encounter it in
our lives. Or to say it another way, what is your
foundation built on? You can try to stop the storms
(good luck with that), or you can prepare to weather
the storms that batter and crash on us.
We can focus on the CAUSE of suffering and evil, or
the RESPONSE to suffering.
Remember the story of the two houses? One is built on
a foundation of rock. What happens when a storm
hits? It stands and weather the storm. The other house
is built on sand. What happens to it? It comes crashing
down because of its foundation.
Obviously, our response to suffering and evil should
be like the person who built their house on a
foundation of rock, i.e., a close, living relationship with
God.
If not, well, hope your insurance is paid up.
Some concluding observations: