Pastor Tom Johnson, November 13, 2022
God is good—all the time. All the time—God is good.
British biologist Richard Dawkins identifies as an atheist. He says there is no God. He does not think any concept of god can be good. Dawkins wrote a book called “The God Delusion.” He toured in a bus to promote his book. On the side of the bus it said, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” In response to his book “The God Delusion,” Alister McGrath—professor of science and religion at the University of Oxford—wrote his own book called “The Dawkins Delusion.”
And then they had a conversation about their books that was recorded. Alister McGrath grew up an atheist so he not only qualifies intellectually to debate Dawkins—he has empathy for Dawkins. In an amazing turn of the conversation, Dawkins admits that the reason he does not believe in God is not because of the science—but because of all the injustice in the world. Bad things still happen to good people. “If there is a God,” Dawkins says, “why does he not intervene and stop those things from happening.” “I cannot believe in a god who sees all the suffering in the world and does not care enough to do anything about it. I cannot believe in a god like that.” Alister McGrath responds with wisdom and compassion: “I cannot very well believe in a god like that either. That is not the god I believe in.”
Not just preeminent atheists—but all of us are repulsed by a distant and uncaring god. If that is who people think God is, then no wonder our churches are declining in membership and attendance. The truth is that every human being longs to know a benevolent God—the true and living God who loves and cares for us deeply. The truth is that when an atheist says, “I will not believe in an uncaring God,” they are making a profound statement of faith. They are, in fact, longing to believe in a benevolent God. And they long to see the evidence of God in the world we live in. The world can often seem like a dark and godless place. Every time we read the newspaper, turn on the television, or hear the radio, we have another reminder that evil is a palpable reality. It is easy to become overwhelmed by all the bad news and darkness. How long, O Lord? When will you come and right every wrong?
When the disciples walk through the Temple with Jesus, he tells them about wars, natural disasters, plagues, and devastation that will happen. He says that their days will continue to be darkened by evil, sin, and death. He does not say why God will allow these things to happen. But there is light. He promises to protect and preserve their souls through those difficult days ahead. Jesus promises that light and life will prevail.
As we approach Advent, we hear more readings about the end of days—the time Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead—just as we confess in the Apostles’ Creed. Our reading from Malachi says “the day is coming burning like an oven.” This holy heat and consuming fire will purge the world of the arrogant and evildoers. If God is good and loves us and all his creation, this is a day we look forward to—not one we shrink away or recoil from. And so we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.” We want God to purge arrogance and evil from the world. And that begins with us. Scripture says “Judgment begins with the household of God” (1 Peter 4:17). Jesus baptizes us with the fire of his Word and Holy Spirit. Like a refiner’s fire, God works to remove the impurities and contamination from our hearts and lives. This “burning like an oven” is good for us. It is good for the world. And the day will come when all sin, evil, and even death itself will be burned up by God’s righteous judgment. The Bible does not say when Jesus will come. The Bible does not say exactly how he will judge the nations. There is much we don’t know. But we do know that we still have to walk by faith, not by sight. We must trust God. We believe that he is good. We live in the assurance that whatever judgment he renders is just and good.
I love how our Psalm—Psalm 98–puts it: “The Lord will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.” In other words, we trust that God is always good and fair. God will intervene and call to account every human soul. He will humble those who are proud. He will finally stop those who do evil. This is also good news. It’s good news for those who were persecuted in the early church. It is good news for those many Christians who suffer persecution, imprisonment, and death because of their faith in Jesus today. Those whom Jesus will judge are not named. Those to whom Jesus will bring fire are not identified—only as “the arrogant and evildoers.” It is not our job to say who or what they are. We do not add our words to God’s Word.
Our comfort is that God is good. God cares about our suffering. And there will come a day when he will deal swiftly with all the injustice we see in the world. We don’t know why God delays in finally doling out his justice. One reason he delays is out of his grace and mercy. As Scripture says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
“But for you,” our reading from Malachi says, “but for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.” The dawn of this bright morning star has already come and shined in the person of Jesus Christ. He has already suffered judgment for us on the Cross of Calvary. We have seen God’s justice when he conquered sin, evil, and death by the selfless sacrifice of the Son of God. And we will see his divine justice again.
This sun of righteousness has already arisen out of the empty tomb in burning glory. He brings healing in his wings. He gives life and flight to our forgiveness, life, and salvation. The burning sun shines in our hearts, lives, and the whole world. He bears our healing on his wings—healing of body, mind, and spirit. And we will see his divine justice again when he comes in glory.
God is good—all the time. All the time—God is good.
No comments:
Post a Comment