“Are not the gods just?”
“Oh, no, my child. Where would we be if they were?”
(C. S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces)
by Marti Fischer
There was once a time when I got distressed about the existence of evil/sin in the world and wondered why God didn’t run the world right.
I say “there was a time” because now, when I purposely turn to the Lord to inquire, his grace provides light to expose that most of the suffering in my world is self–inflicted. It is my sin including my greed, my permissiveness, my selfishness, my relentless pursuit of personal pleasure that has caused so much unhappiness in others and in me.
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3: 17)
There is freedom when turning to the Lord — freedom to fellowship, freedom to talk to Him about the sin (my sin), freedom to be cleansed, and freedom to be responsible for the anguish I cause because of my sin.
Of course I can insist God be a just God, to start setting things right by dealing with evil/sin. His justice would have to do so across the board, which means he would put down all of the other horrid people including me. If God were merely just where would I stand — or could I?
Now when I say, “What’s wrong with the world?” My answer is always, “I am.”
And because of His amazing Grace, I can turn the Grace given to me out to others.
Leave a Reply