God is Not Punishing the World

Now Showing…Life Lessons from a Killer Virus Today’s Lesson: God is Not Punishing the World Life Lessons from a Killer Virus Lesson #1There is no us and them. There’s only us. Lesson #2 Living in Reality: Control is an Illusion and Certainty is a myth. Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Psalm10:1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? Psalm 13:1-2 “No doubt the usual silly suspects will tell us why God is doing this to us. A punishment? A warning? A sign? These are knee-jerk would-be Christian reactions in a culture which, generations back, embraced rationalism: everything must have an explanation. But supposing it doesn’t? Supposing real human wisdom doesn’t mean being able to string together some dodgy speculations and say, “So that’s all right then?” What if, after all, there are moments such as T. S. Eliot recognized in the early 1940s, when the only advice is to wait without hope, because we’d be hoping for the wrong thing?” N.T. Wright From Time magazine article Christianity Offers No Answers About the Coronavirus. It's Not Supposed To At the heart of all these questions is a larger one: What is God like? Two pictures After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Job.42:7 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then he and his disciples went to another village. Luke 9:52-56 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. Luke 9:55-56 (KJV) "God is Christlike, and in him is no un-Christlikeness at all." A.M.Ramsey If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. Jn.1:18 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature Heb.1:1-3a Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Jn.14:6-9a Question: Does God (Jesus) care about what is happening? When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Mt. 9:36 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” Jn.11:32-37 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:41-44 God/Jesus did not create a world of starvation, violence, pandemics and death. That is the work of man’s inhumanity to man God is not indifferent to your pain or the sufferings of the world. He co-suffers with us. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? Ps.22:1 Jesus knew what it was like to feel the seeming abandonment of God. I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: (Heb.2:11-the words of Jesus also) You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him. Ps.22:22-24 Point: We have a God who is not hurling Zeus-like lightning bolts at the world, but a God who is compassionate and grieves alongside us. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Heb.4:15-16 God is NOT punishing the world. He is reaching out and trying to teach us the way of life. Perhaps you’re praying things will go back to normal. Where we could go back to a life as it used to be? “Nothing should go back to normal. Normal wasn’t working. If we go back to the way things were; we will have lost the lesson. May we rise up and do better.” When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Mt. 9:36-38 There are enough resources to feed and care for the world IF we would realize there is no US and THEM. IF we would realize we ARE our brother’s keeper. Next week: Easter- A Brave New World in 2020