November 12, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord. They have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.” (Isaiah 1.4)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

We have heard it often, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Let’s stop and ask ourselves, shall we, “Who are the good people?” Some of the misconceptions and misunderstandings which are inferred by this question might be resolved as we focus on the one critical identity in those questions: good. Literally, “from the beginning,” the word “good” has been made less than what it truly is intended. The Hebrew word for “good” is not about morality, justice or fairness. It is about righteousness, being in right relationship, having balance and harmony. The Hebrew word is “tov.” For those who have followed my reflections on God’s Word, I have continually pressed into this basic understanding of “good.” Within modern Christian practice there is an antiphonal saying “God is good…all the time. All the time…God is good.” Sadly, it is too easy for human beings to fall into that thinking of good as indicating “good to me.” That thought opens a box of “hopes” which include “praise, reward, entitlement, riches, provision beyond merit and even at time ‘gives me what I want.’” I think you get the sense of the meaning of the misuse of this word. We will even use it in determining the status and validity of our relationships. That validity statement sounds something like this: “If you love me, then you will be good to me and give me what I want whether I need it, deserve it or should have it.” We see it running rampant in today’s culture and climate under the banner of “Wokism.” I am unclear as to who gets to assign such titles but regardless, it is the one that exists in this moment and so I will address it as such. When asked the other day what “woke” really means, I kept it simple and to the point. I admit it is my understanding and the estimation of things based on the evidence of verbage produced by those who call themselves “woke.” Basically, it seems to point, and you are free to argue the point, that being “woke” means “I have to freedom to think, do and say whatever I want. It doesn’t matter what you think, do and say because you are entitled to that as well. However, do not conflict with my thinking, doing and saying: affirm it, believe it and let me have my way and I will allow you yours as long as you don’t not agree with me.” Oh, even the self-righteousness may claim this thinking as pointing humanity in the direction of equity and equality before, during and after “the Law,” whichever law that may be. They may even choose to assign “free will” to this time of lifestyle and thus lead others to believe that it is God-ordained. If I chase this rabbit down the hole far enough, I will have to consider that God is absent, capricious or even non-existent. Of course, that is what the enemy of God and humanity would love for us to believe. It is “core” of the apple which Satan presented. Except, his core was the illusory argument to deceive Adam and Eve (and yes, the intention was to deceive them both) and turn them from the “right and good understanding” of who and whose they were. How can I say this? Let’s review the places where “good” exists in that creation story.

First, “at the end of the day before the sun went down,” God would declare the completion of the day’s work with a blessing. That blessing would say “…and it was good.” It wasn’t a moral declaration. It wasn’t an ego declaration. It was a statement of fact that “as God intended for function and purpose” what was made did what it was intended to do and was what it was intended to be. It was in balance and harmony. Even the priestly declaration showed such balance and harmony. How? 1) There was always a connection with what is now and what was before it. 2) There was a fullness of “it was evening and it was morning, another day.” By the time we get to the “sixth day,” this is the season of creation where humanity has its beginning. All that pre-existed “man and woman” was then good for them and their livelihood and their living. In turn, they were good for the whole of creation because their nature and purpose was to maintain the cycle of life in prosperity and fruitfulness. They lived off the land and the land lived by them. Would it have done so on its own? Did nature have its own way which God had declared was “good” each to its own? Yes, it did with this important exception. It did not exist in isolation. It existed in the goodness of God which was exemplified the necessary balance to prevent chaos. It demonstrated what happens when “right thinking,” “right actions” and “right relationship” coincide and work together for a common good. That common good was the natural state of existence. It was the essence of righteousness, being in balance with spirit and truth. So, all of creation was working up to the moment of finality where the final piece was put in place which allowed all things to make sense, if you will. The purpose of creation was revealed in “that moment.” That moment was the creation of humanity. It wasn’t just any humanity but that expression of the “image of God” which declared all things were now made new. It all came together and in that moment God made the ultimate declaration that it was not merely good but “good and very good.” The final stroke of the writer’s pen or paint brush which said “It is finished. It is done.” The signature was applied and consummated the deal. It was God’s declaration of ownership and relationship. So, committed was God to this creation that He brought it all into a day of rest, focus and revelation. That day existed, by editor effort, beyond chapter 1 of Genesis. It became the focal point between two posits.

2) Then there was another “good” point made. In chapter 2 of Genesis, we will hear God make another declaration. We do not get to this declaration until thirteen verses describing the creation of the world again are revealed. We will notice, as I have mentioned many times before, there is a different slant on the story of creation. It is seen from a different perspective, if you will, as if there is another “story” teller at work. For Paul Harvey this might be “the rest of the story.” For others, following the lead of Y. B. Yeats, we are given “the other side of the coin.” In either case, we are lead from harmony to chaos where before we were led from chaos to harmony. Perhaps you have not seen this storyline before because the Sabbath day was not fully in focus. It is little wonder that even today “keeping the Sabbath holy” is not seen as a true priority. It has lost its primary function for both stories in the modern world. Regardless of that, what we hear after thirteen verses following the “Sabbath day” is God saying, “It is NOT GOOD for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2.18) Even God recognizes the imbalance, the disharmony and the lack of connection which is missing from plan. I believe God knew it all the time. This could have been the most important teaching moment for all of creation in Heaven and on earth. Humanity, on its own, is incomplete without a holistic relationship between the created and the creator. The very fact that God calls this moment to the attention of creation is significant. It exposes the reality of authentic goodness. It is impossible to grasp without the intervention of God. It is the roadmap for the story of humanity as it will exist until “all things are made new” with the goodness of God, the righteousness of God which is revealed in “the man of God” who is Jesus of Nazareth, God’s only begotten Son.

So, why do “bad” things happen to “good” people? Who is “good”? Even Jesus raises this question in response to the declaration of the young ruler who approached Him with the salutation “Good teacher!” Jesus asked him, “Why do you call Me good? There is none GOOD but God!” (Matthew 19.17; Mark 10.18) Even the apostle Paul, if you remember, declared to both Jew and Gentile, “For we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, that which He intended for us.” (Romans 3.23) Perhaps what we are seeing is a case of “bad and worse.” Bad things happen because creation is out of balance and in disharmony with the creator. Creation seems to be in rebellion. What could be worse? The very life that is the image of God is in rebellion. The created acts in denial of what is good. What is “good” in that sense? It is to forsake the mission, vision, purpose and intention for which the created exist. And let us understand it from both sides of the coin, if you will. On the one side (heads or tails I cannot say), we see humanity as a whole who are the children of God made in His/Their image who set aside the forsaking of the Sabbath day and turn only to themselves. On the other side (again heads or tails I dare not say), we see the called community as husband and wife reflecting the union of spirit and flesh, an incarnation if you will, which goes into all the world to declare the reconciliation of God with us. Literally and figuratively, it is Immanuel, flesh and spirit being brought into harmony (grace) and out of chaos (sin.) For Isaiah, the word is given to that community in specific that “bad things are happening and worse will happen to the people who are supposed to be good.” In contrast, it might well seem then that “good things,” by the world’s descriptors, happen to those who are “bad” by the viewpoint of the dissenting group because “they are not like us.” We have much to learn from Isaiah about ourselves, our community of faith and our calling as a “priesthood of all believers.” More tomorrow.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit in order that others be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind so we would know we are Your people and You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.