It is hard to understand all the odd things we think concerning God. We know what scripture says, to some degree, but the meanings that we put on what it says are amazing.
A number of years ago, I spoke to a group of military chaplains on legal issues surrounding confidentiality and dealing with military members. After the presentation, we had a nice lunch. I sat with an Episcopal chaplain and, somehow, we ended up discussing the question of God's sovereignty in life. The chaplain, a minister by calling and profession, very comfortably told me that he did not believe God had any regular impact on life. Why? Well, because the chaplain's wife had died a few years earlier. He was sure that God had nothing to do with his wife's death, "because God loves me." He very calmly told me that the death of his wife made it very clear that God was not sovereign at all.
This is a more common thought than you might imagine. People have decided that "love" means doing whatever makes someone happy, so anything that hurts someone isn't "love." Because they think this is what love means, they must deny that God has any power to actually make His love effective, otherwise they must deny that He loves.
As always, the Bible would fix this if we would read it. In 2 Kings 6, we are told of an attack on Israel by Aram (Syria in some translations). A siege results in Samaria and the resulting starvation is well illustrated by a woman who ate her son. The Bible is also clear that this was God's will. He had prophesied that this would happen (Deut. 28:15-68). In fact, the attack and famine and cannibalism was God's punishment on Israel, as is made clear. 2 Kings 6:33. Furthermore, God always had the power to end the siege and does so the very next day by His own power. 2 Kings 7.
God did this to His people. God loved them and punished them. God further tells us that He will discipline each of us, which is actually proof of His love. "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11.
God loves us. His goal for us (His eternal decree for us), is that we be holy and blameless before Him. Eph 1:4. He is able to make that decree come true. Jude 24-25. He will make it come true.
God's goal is not your happiness, but your holiness. He had decreed that you shall be like Christ, who suffered. May we all learn to embrace not only the pleasures of the gospel, but the discipline of the Lord as well. He loves us, after all.
A number of years ago, I spoke to a group of military chaplains on legal issues surrounding confidentiality and dealing with military members. After the presentation, we had a nice lunch. I sat with an Episcopal chaplain and, somehow, we ended up discussing the question of God's sovereignty in life. The chaplain, a minister by calling and profession, very comfortably told me that he did not believe God had any regular impact on life. Why? Well, because the chaplain's wife had died a few years earlier. He was sure that God had nothing to do with his wife's death, "because God loves me." He very calmly told me that the death of his wife made it very clear that God was not sovereign at all.
This is a more common thought than you might imagine. People have decided that "love" means doing whatever makes someone happy, so anything that hurts someone isn't "love." Because they think this is what love means, they must deny that God has any power to actually make His love effective, otherwise they must deny that He loves.
As always, the Bible would fix this if we would read it. In 2 Kings 6, we are told of an attack on Israel by Aram (Syria in some translations). A siege results in Samaria and the resulting starvation is well illustrated by a woman who ate her son. The Bible is also clear that this was God's will. He had prophesied that this would happen (Deut. 28:15-68). In fact, the attack and famine and cannibalism was God's punishment on Israel, as is made clear. 2 Kings 6:33. Furthermore, God always had the power to end the siege and does so the very next day by His own power. 2 Kings 7.
God did this to His people. God loved them and punished them. God further tells us that He will discipline each of us, which is actually proof of His love. "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11.
God loves us. His goal for us (His eternal decree for us), is that we be holy and blameless before Him. Eph 1:4. He is able to make that decree come true. Jude 24-25. He will make it come true.
God's goal is not your happiness, but your holiness. He had decreed that you shall be like Christ, who suffered. May we all learn to embrace not only the pleasures of the gospel, but the discipline of the Lord as well. He loves us, after all.
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