Why Do Innocent People Suffer? (4)
Thursday February 9, 2017
God created human beings to live forever in a loving relationship with Himself. Love is an attribute that must be freely given and received. It can’t be forced. God is love. If we love God, we will trust His word and obey what He says. Adam and Eve chose to doubt God’s love, believe Satan’s lies, and made a choice that brought sin and suffering on themselves and their descendants.
Where is God in all this? Is He standing helplessly by His throne while life on this planet spins out of control and suffering increases? Of course not! His love toward us is unfailing and His mercy is new each morning. He is a faithful God who cares for us and through His Holy Spirit pursues us with His love. He is waiting for us to respond to His love demonstrated through Jesus, whose death and resurrection frees us from the chains of sin and death.
It was our suffering he took on himself; he bore our pain. We thought that God was punishing him, that God was beating him for something he did. But he was being punished for what we did. He was crushed because of our guilt. He took the punishment we deserved, and this brought us peace. We were healed because of his pain. We had all wandered away like sheep. We had gone our own way. And yet the Lord put all our guilt on him. (Isaiah 53:4-6 ERV)
God offers us the same choice he gave Adam and Eve. We can trust that He is love and that all His ways are love. We can choose to believe that everything God instructs us to do is given to protect and care for us, OR, we can decide on our own what is good and what is evil. If we do, then the consequences are the same for us as they were for Adam and Eve – suffering and spiritual death. We don’t have to remain trapped in the painful consequences of our wrong choices. God has made available what we need to overcome our sin and suffering.
Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. (Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NLT)
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your unfailing love and grace revealed through Jesus. Teach me Your ways and help me to wholeheartedly love and obey You. AMEN
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