Scripture:
Matthew 13:13 Jesus said, “This is why I speak to them in parables: Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”
Reflection:
I think that most of us see God as one who is fair, just, and for the most part, kind. The “fair and just” part of God’s character seems to be what we would require of an omnipotent being that rules the known universe, but the kind part of God’s character is often more “hoped for” than something we can bank on with certainty. Yet, as we read scripture, I’m not sure if we can ever find a passage that says God was fair or nice.
Heather Zemple in her book…Amazed and Confused says; “Most of the time, we see God acting in ways that is anything but nice! He floods the earth, kills Egyptian babies, makes Hosea the prophet marry a prostitute named Gomer…wow God… really? And when Jesus shows up in the New Testament, being the exact representation of God, he’s not always nice either! ‘He tells a guy that if he goes and buries his parents, he cannot be his disciple. He tells a Phoenician woman that she is not worthy of his assistance and labels the Pharisees as whitewashed tombs.” These are not the statements that make you popular with the “in-crowd.”
God never claimed to be nice, nor, shall I say, fair; yet He does claim to be just and loving, which are quite different. He also claims to be good, holy, and a consuming fire. God’s justice and our concept of fairness are not mutually inclusive of one another. I hate to say it, but when our “justice meter” points to being fair, fairness usually favors us.
In a parable shared by Jesus in Matthew 20;13, Jesus says; “Friend, I am doing you no wrong…Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity? For the last will be first and the first last.”
The bottom line is this, God does us no wrong…even when life does not seem fair or kind. He is generous and will graciously give what he gives us because he loves us. How we see God’s grace is unfortunately limited to our short-sighted perspective. I’m thankful that God does not treat us according to what our idea is of fair and just, as I’m convinced it would be exceedingly less than what He will ultimately bestow on us and the generations that follow us!
Isaiah 55: 8,9 says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God’s ways are certainly not our way. He may not seem to be nice as we might define it, but He certainly is fair and just toward all mankind!
David
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