Our God is a good God

Scripture: Luke 19:41-44 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things [which belong] unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Observation: Here we see Jesus prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem which did occur in 70 AD. It is interesting that Jesus clearly linked the destruction of Jerusalem to the fact that they did not recognize that he was the Christ. There is a tendency in our culture to indict God, to say "how could a good and loving God do such terrible things". Clearly, thousands of infants and children lost their lives in horrible deaths when the Romans conquered Jerusalem. How could a good God do such a thing, or even allow it? Is not God sovereign? Notice Jesus' reaction as he prophesied the destruction. First he wept. This was not some divine retribution, where people sinned and God in his anger poured out his wrath on them. On the contrary, Jesus wept over the sin of the people of Jerusalem and the consequences that they would reap. But our good and loving God did not remove the consequences. Could he? Yes, but he would have had to gone against his own words when he established a covenant with Adam, which was renewed several times through Moses, Abraham, and others. God cannot lie, and if he would have forced his will on an unwilling Jerusalem, then he would have broken his word with them. And so, our loving father lets us suffer the consequences of our actions, because he created us like him ... with a free will. He created us sovereign, like he is sovereign. He weeps when we make mistakes, he helps us when we ask him to, but when we turn our backs to him, he allows us to make mistakes and suffer the consequences. He is also a redeeming God, he will take our mistakes and turn them into good if we ask him to.

Application: How then should we live? Since we serve a God who loves us, but loves us enough to let us suffer the consequences of our own mistakes? We have not, because we ask not. Let us always humble ourselves to God, ask him to help us and work in our lives. When we see the consequence of the fallen world we live in, let us not blame God... but rather let us ask for his redemptive power to make all things work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. But what about the innocent, the children who suffer and die because of other people's sin. How can God allow this? We as God's hands and feet need to do everything we can to protect those who suffer because of others. And when we fail, let us not blame God, but rather let us ask his redemptive power to make things right and comfort those who are in need of comfort.


Prayer: Thank You Jesus for your love. Thank you for your grace and mercy. Thank you for each day we are given to serve you . Let us this day serve you with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. Give us this day our provision. May your love conquer all. May your love deliver those in bondage. May your love guide me in each step I take this day. Amen.