As Christians we can identify with the following scriptures with ease:
We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. John 9:31
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15
You have just heard two very powerful passages of scripture written by two very different individuals; one an Apostle and the other a layman. Both inspired by the Lord and both are of course true. In this truth we have learned to trust in God, and we have gained confidence. However, sometimes this confidence to arrogance and fool us into believing that we understand God’s will completely. Author and Theologian, the late Dr. James Dobson wrote a book “When God Doesn’t Make Sense” One statement from this book the that resonates with me is “Clearly, Scripture tells us that we lack the capacity to grasp God’s infinite mind or the way He intervenes in our lives. How arrogant of us to think otherwise.”
In the times of tragedy, we tend to lose our confidence and it is in those times we need to trust God. Luke 13:1 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. 2 “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Luke 13:1-2 (NLT)
Think about it: Here we have Priest and Levites performing their solemn and Holy duty in service of God. A righteous function one that no one can misconstrue as evil in any way. Then they are struck down with swords. All because the governor of the region wanted to make a point. I don’t care who you are or where you are I can get to you so don’t ever get out of line with me or it is curtains for you. Not a clear enough picture? How about something more recent. A bible study is taking place on June 17th of 2015; a young man comes in and shoot and kills nine innocent people. Who were they harming what were they doing other than an act of worship to the Lord? All because this young man wanted to ignite a race war. For Christians a question starts to arise; not why did this happen, because the killer told us why he did it. No, the question is more piercing than that. It is a question that I don’t even want to ask out loud. Why did God allow this to happen.
So, why does the Lord allow these things to happen to not only the sinners but to his saints people as well? Many theologians have wrestled with this question for centuries. I believe in the midst of tragedies Christians began to struggle with why, and it led to Diest way of thinking. The most famous Diest was founding Father Thomas Jefferson. The Diest say we don’t deny there is a God and that he made the universe to include us, but he has stepped away and let it go by itself. As if God wound the universe up like an old fashion clock and just let it go.
The Diest explanations are logical but still not correct. Because it does not account for how God has demonstratively intervened in the lives of believers through prayer…if you have ever had a prayer answered you understand what I am saying. I am reminded of a testimony of a woman of God, (we will call her Lisa) years ago. Lisa was looking to buy a house, and everything was lining up perfectly down the pre-approval. Then Lisa remembered Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Lisa said she prayed a little perhaps half-hearted prayer that went like this: Lord thank you for bringing me through this process of home buying…but if there is any reason I should not but this house please stop it. Later Lisa gets a call from the bank, and her financing had suddenly and inexplicably been denied. This was certainly a surprise since her credit had been pre-approved. Recognizing that she prayed she prayed Lisa did not re-apply and decided to wait upon the Lord (Isaiah 40:31).
In less than 90 days Lisa receives a call from her uncle. Her uncle was elderly and needed assisted living and was attempting to sell his home but could not find a buyer. Now Lisa recognizing the providential hand of God, re-applied for the loan. It is no surprise that it was approved. The circumstances went like this: Lisa’s uncle’s former home was larger than the one she attempted to purchase before and fit the needs of her family better. Also, the money her uncle made from the sale of the home allowed him to live out his final years with the help he needed. As Christians we can easily recognize the hand of God in this testimony and know that this was providence and not blind coincidence.
Back to the question why. Look at Scripture. John 9:1 1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
If you are familiar with Scripture you know that the Lord heals the blind man but the Pharisees (religious leaders of the time) were looking for the Messiah to make a grand entrance to their religious hierarchy missed the fact that Jesus is the Messiah. Even in light of this miracle which was very significant because opening the eyes of the blind was well know sign the Messiah was prophesied years earlier. However, due to Spiritual Blindness The religious leaders fail to Jesus is the Messiah and divert their energy into a useless investigation looking to explain away the miracle rather than accepting it.
After two rounds of questioning the former blind man give us this brilliant dissertation. John 9:30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out. John 9:30-34. Instead of thinking along the lines of being a sinner is the only reason people suffer; on the contrary The Lord points out sometimes it can be an opportunity to show God’s grace!
Back to Luke 13:1 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. 2 “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? 3 Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. 4 And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? 5 No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”
In times of tragedy, I was told to go to Luke 13 this scripture. I have read it many times but few times outside tragic events. What does this scripture mean? As forementioned at the time this event took place there was a teaching and belief that all things of a tragic nature were the direct effect of an immediate cause of sin as we have examined earlier. The Lord’s response is not one of moral and political condemnation of the Roman government. The Lord simply replies with the following: “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! (The he says) And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. St Paul tells us to 2nd Tim 2:15 to “rightly divide the word of truth.” If we take that statement in two parts it becomes germane to the topic “Trust vs Tragedy.
Part 1: Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! Clearly the Lord challenges the establish way of thinking that sin is the only reason people suffer. If we were to examine this further we as people can agree with the author
Part 2: The second part is more nuanced. What He is saying is that in this world death can come at any time by murder, natural causes, or accident, and proves this by mentioning the people in the tower of Siloam. Different circumstances but both resulted in the loss of life. Therefore, at all times as long as you live on this fallen and imperfect world make sure that you have an Eternal Life Insurance Policy with God by Repenting of Your Sins and Believing In Him!
So, Pastor, you have given us answers but you did not say why it happened in my family. The truth is no man can give you an exact reason why these things were allowed to happen. Hear the word of the Lord as he responds to Job’s question of WHY? Job 38:1-7 Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind: 2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? 3 Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. 5 Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? 6 What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone 7 as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Job Notice at the end The Lord does not give Job the exact reason because, He knows that as long as Job lives in the finite he can never understand the infinite.
Job Responds to the LORD 1 Then Job replied to the LORD: 2 “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance? ‘It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. Job 42:1-3. Though Job does not fully understand the will of God as we do not he is now comforted with the fact that God was there the entire time and did not abandon him. The Lord says I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20) and His word also says 1Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. Though we are not called to understand all things we are called to trust in Him. With every test, trial and tribulation, God is asking the question: Do you trust Me? Our answer must be yes not only with words but with our actions.
