The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
(Psalm 145:9)
Without a doubt, Psalm 145 is my favorite passage of Scripture. It holds
many wonderful truths that give me assurance and hope and great joy.
The verse above is one of the greatest truths in all the Bible. God is
good
to everyone. The Lord helps everyone.
Yet many people, including quite a few Christian believers, will not see
how
such a thing can be true. How is God good to everyone?
We can think of many people in horrible circumstances, where no help of
any
kind seemed to intervene. Women raped. People of all ages murdered.
People starving in other lands, and even here in our own cities. Men and
women who live out the rest of their lives all alone, having lost their
spouse. People who lose house and belongings to violent storms, fire, or
other catastrophic events. Whole nations at war.
The list of suffering can go on and on. And in many of these
circumstances,
there seems to be no intervention of goodness.
I think of children growing up right now in terrible poverty, often
abandoned by parents. Children in Haiti, in Cuba, Brazil, India, and in
many other parts of the world. Children in our own large inner cities.
And
I wonder why the children must suffer such things.
We may not need to go beyond our own lives or our own family or community
to
see people in need of some kind of assistance. No doubt there are times
when we plead with God for an answer, a miracle, a mighty rescue from
circumstances we face. Who has not lost a loved one? Who has not been
afraid?
And when we think of such times or experience such times, we may not be
able
to see where or how God is good to all. We may begin to feel that God is
sometimes very harsh, indeed. After all, isn't much of the Bible also
given
to threats and warnings from God about judgments to come? And what about
hell? Can a good and merciful God really send millions or billions of
people into hell?
Is God truly good to all? Is there really a mercy that extends to all
people? Does He really help everyone who cries out to Him?
I have no doubt that every word of Scripture is true. And while I do
believe that all Scripture must be balanced, when interpreted, with all
the
rest of the Bible, I do not believe we need to add any "but" or "if" or
other exceptions to this verse. God really is merciful and good to all
living things, and to all people.
When a life is horribly shattered on planet earth we need not think that
is
the end of the matter. I would think that the teachings of Jesus (not to
mention the rest of Scripture) should make that clear.
Jesus tells us repeatedly throughout the gospels that this life is not all
there is, and that we should be placing our hope and all our treasures on
the age to come, on the life that begins with resurrection. And we have
the
terrible death followed by a wonderful resurrection of Jesus Himself as
evidence that He spoke the truth.
Consider the Son of God. He cried out in agony on the cross as He
suffered
and died. He asked why God had forsaken Him. We need no imagination to
understand how such a cry, instead of a mighty rescue, impacted the
disciples who had been hoping that Jesus was the Messiah. Such an end to
His life must have sealed their despair. It was obvious that Jesus was in
real pain, in real agony of soul.
But such a terrible injustice and tragedy was not the end of the story.
And
quite aside from the need for human salvation (which is why Jesus died on
the cross) I believe we needed to see this kind of tragic death, this
apparent finality and loss of all hope, this huge absence of a miracle, a
rescue or intervention by God.
We needed the example of Jesus so that we might begin to understand what
we
need to understand about God's absolute and eternal goodness. This world
and this lifetime does not tell or see all that God has in store for
humanity.
God is, as the Scriptures testify, truly and forever righteous. He will
always balance the scales. He will always set things right again. The
first in this world may very well become the last in the age to come. And
the last, here and now, will become the first in a time that never ends.
It would all sound like wishful thinking, like some children's bedtime
story, something to help ease our sorrows and pain, except that Jesus
proved
it is true. He proved it by allowing Himself to be taken by force,
falsely
accused and judged, beaten and tortured beyond recognition, nailed to a
cross and put to death. And then on the third day, Jesus walked out of
His
tomb. He did not stagger out, barely conscious and unable to speak, but
walked out in full strength and glory, with angels attending.
How do we today really know that Jesus rose from the dead and proved that
God's goodness does not end with death? Simple. Look at the frightened
and
shattered disciples. In the face of total loss and even fearing for their
own lives, they suddenly found courage and a boldness that no longer
feared
death or suffering. In the place of dark, hollow fear and dread, they had
a
fire and passion that made them shout to the whole world: JESUS LIVES!
That same power of God and goodness of God that Jesus received as the
obedient Son, is also promised to all people. The goodness of God is
displayed in the life, the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.
And it is promised and proclaimed to all people.
The message is clear: Jesus lives. Jesus saves. Jesus rescues and helps
and restores.
Good news, indeed.
Jim
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