The Message

The message was strong and the words came with clout.

You must change. Stop your sin. You must cut it out!

The world pulls you in, you stink of its sin, God says be holy, its true!

The message was clear, but without ears to hear, the people said , This will not do!

Lighten up about sin, talk softly and then maybe we will listen to you.

Its not very nice to speak of our vice and make us feel bad for the things that we do.

Tell us of love and of heaven above, but not about hell and the fire.

You never will reach our ears if you preach a message against our desires.

I cannot said the voice. Overcome! Make your choice, be true to the claims of God.

Stand apart from the crowd, take your cross, live out loud, do not be afraid to be odd.

How dare you speak out, close your mouth,  hush your voice.

I will do what I want, Its my life and my choice!

Your message needs sweetened, it burns on our ears.

Tune your message to us and we’ll give you a cheer.

But I can’t change the message. I speak what I've heard.

When God says to speak, I must speak His Word.

I give warning, take heed. God is love, that is true.

But he also takes seriously the sin that you do.

He won’t take your sin along with your soul.

He wants you holy, made clean, made whole.

You seem to think I am cramping your style.

 But God is coming in just a little while.

Suddenly a trumpet was heard to blare,

people were separated, some here, and some there.

The Heavens  were opened and God did appear.

To the sheep of his flock the Lord said Come here.

The goats were cast out in the sulfurous air

They complained to the Lord, let us in, its not fair.

Oh yes said the Lord, My justice is true.

You made fun of the preacher that I sent to you.

I warned you of sin, and called you to turn.

If you refused,  you were told that you’d burn.

To those who may read this, the message is clear.

When God gives a message, be careful to hear.

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He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Hear and obey

God uses the most unlikely people. A barren couple are given the promise of many descendants and are told a nation shall rise from them and through them, all nations will be blessed. A slave is lifted from the dungeons to instruct the ruler of Egypt. Where God has a respected priest he uses a boy to lead people back to worship. Where he has a soldier, he uses a shepherd to defeat a giant warrior. He uses a girl to deliver a nation. He uses a cupbearer to raise the city of God from ashes and rubble. A  young virgin is tasked with carrying the Son of God and Savior of mankind in her womb. An enthusiastic persecutor of Christianity is made to be its greatest advocate. A monk stands against the whole church to lead people back to truth and the way of faith. A failed missionary sets off national revival. Why does God use such people?

In the instances above, God was able to speak to the person he used. It’s not that he didn’t speak to anyone else, but these people were listening. They were not only hearing, but they were hearing with an inclination to cooperate with what God had to say. God spoke to Abraham(Genesis 12:1), and Abraham believed God. He moved forward at the Word of the Lord and God counted him righteous (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3, 18; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23) and used his righteous life to advance the Kingdom. God gave Joseph a dream and Joseph trusted God to see him through. God used Joseph’s hear and obey attitude for his purposes and to bless Israel (Genesis 50:20). Samuel stands in contrast to Eli and his two wicked sons as the one God would use to lead the nation of Israel (1 Samuel 3:11-14, 19-21). God took the listening obedient heart of the Shepherd boy David, and made him King, because king Saul could no longer hear the voice of God (1 Samuel 28:15). Esther became queen and heard the call of God through her uncle Mordecai, put her life on the line, and was used of God to frustrate the plans of the enemy(Esther 4:14, 16). Nehemiah’s heart was broken over the city where God had put his name (Nehemiah 2:1-2), and God used Him to bring restoration and hope (Nehemiah 13:14). Mary was chosen to bear the Christ child, and her response was total surrender to the will of God (Luke 1:38). A hostile Pharisee, Saul became a friend of the church, transformed through revelation and submission (Acts 9:1-22). Martin Luther led the protestant reformation with the ninety-five thesis (outlining inconsistencies in the church) nailed to Wittenberg Castle door because God spoke to him through the Scriptures and he felt he had to stand on what God had said rather than allow clergy to subvert the Word of God. John Wesley led the Great Awakening in England and the Americas through the experiential knowledge of a surrendered and purified heart.

God is still using people. It may not be the ones you would expect. It may be a farm boy who hears the call of God to “Preach the Gospel” (remember Billy Graham). It may be a shoe store clerk (Dwight Moody) called to be an evangelist, or the son of a traveling preacher God calls to be a missionary (Jim Elliot). God can speak to a young man from a wealthy respectable family and use his obedience to stand up against tyranny and oppression (Dietrich Bonheoffer). God uses people who hear and obey. The ones most willing to listen to God are the one’s God is most likely to use. Speak Lord, for your servant hears.

The Problem of Evil

How do we handle the problem of evil. Many use the issue of evil to dispute the power, or goodness of God. The argument goes something like this. If God is good, why are the innocent allowed to suffer. Either he is powerless to do anything about it, or he is not good. Why are children allowed to suffer? How do we reconcile the newborn with a horrible disease or birth defect with a loving God? The Bible explains evil as the result of sin (Romans 5:12), but not everyone who suffers is receiving punishment for personal sin (John 9:3).
One of the difficulties we have is that we see everything with a finite lens (Psalm 88:3, 144:4; Job 14:1). We celebrate a birth, measure our lives in years, with death marking the end much like the period at the end of a sentence (Proverbs 5:11). We can not see beyond the grave. Is it possible that rewards await us beyond this life that outweigh the evil we experience on this earth (2 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Peter 5:4)?
We must also remember that if evil comes as a result of sin, then the possibility of evil existed from the very beginning. Man could choose to sin because God gave him a will that he could exercise as a moral agent (Genesis 2:16-17). If this were not so, then we would be forced to obey. Is it possible that when God created us with a free will he did so because it was the best possible way to make our world. What kind of world would it be if none of us could choose to follow God? There is no merit in obedience when no possibility of disobedience exists (Deuteronomy 6:25). Wouldn't creating us with a forced obedience make us automatons? We consider it a great evil when our freedom is taken away. One of the greatest assets we can have is our freedom (John 8:36).
We must realize that God allows evil as part of a greater good. The very nature of love requires that we have a choice. Choice necessarily allows rejection. But having introduced choice, God must still deal with evil. And deal with it he will. Though the problem of evil, injustice and pain cause us so much sorrow, in the end God will set things right and wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4). When finite vision with its short sighted lens is replaced with an eternal perspective, perhaps the problem of evil will not seem so great. Weeping lasts for the night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).