Why do bad things happen to good people?
This is probably the most commonly posed question I get when faith, religion, christianity, etc. is discussed. Often there is a very apologetic, theologically based answer involved. This is the answer I usually gave, in all my expanse of theological knowledge (ha). I would point to Romans 3 saying that no one is actually good so the question is flawed in and of itself. Blah blah blah. But does that touch the heart of someone who is hurting? No. It's almost always a pretty conceited answer. "I know theology better than you, obviously..." However true, is that the best way to answer the question? Perhaps. Its most assuredly a truth that needs to be understood. But I think that maybe there is a better way to go about it.
These thoughts came to me today as I was updating facebook. My favorite skit of all time is the rendition of Lifehouse's Everything. I was posting the video rather than the link on my profile (busy day, i know...) and I watched it again. That 5 minute skit speaks to my soul. For those of you who haven't seen it, check it out. Its on my facebook profile under posted items. :)
As I was watching the video (for prolly the 100th time) I was still so deeply moved at the redemption found in Christ. It captures so much in 5 minutes that I have experienced and could never put to words. Maybe its because I am more of a visual person than a word person, but I feel like I saw the love of God in a new light that was backed by the truth of the Bible. The Holy Spirit whispers through any means necessary. :)
So back to what I was saying about bad things happening to good people... I think that in life we become jaded. We live day-to-day as believers and followers and the majesty of God gets lost in our jobs, classes, adventures, etc. Not that we always become something to be detested, but lukewarm (which is worse). And then every now and then we do wander that far. Looking back at my life experiences I see how I tried to fill my life with a bunch of crap. Just like the girl in the video. I was absorbed with the things of this world and God took a serious back seat to the point where He was totally unrecognizable in my life. And not that I went out and killed someone and that was the bad thing, but bad things happen when God is pretty much riding on the exhaust pipe.
When I think about who I was before then I see this pretty standard "church girl" that thought she had a pretty good grasp on theology, loved the church, served with her gifts, was confident in God's love, and felt like she had it all together. Even looking back at the type of verses I underlined in my Bible... all were about worship and love and la la la. But I seemed to always breeze by the verses about redemption. "Yeah Yeah Yeah.... Christ died on the cross and redeemed us from our sin." I knew I was a sinner, but I didn't feel a pressing need for Grace because I was a pretty "good" Christian. So I played the part and said I was a sinner in need of Grace when in my heart I felt like I at least deserved it a little.
So why do bad things happen to good people? I would say that people who think they are good are blessed to know that they are not. Bad things really do hurt and have consequences and its not easy to be in a bad thing thinking that God allowed it to happen, or even caused it. But looking back on my life specifically I am so thankful for everything that has ever happened to me. Because I pretty much rejected God for a period in my life, He has shown me just a little better how amazing His grace is. How absolutely ridiculous it is that I can even have a little of it, let alone it all. So I would say its because of God's perfection and GRACE that bad things happen to "good" people. He not only redeems us from our sin, but from our self-righteousness, allowing us to experience what life is like outside of the lukewarm.
I think that these same experiences reveal truth of the Word too. Like I said before, I used to really focus on verses about worship and love and all the light-fluffiness of the gospel. Since I have really loved the verses about redemption and God's faithfulness to His people. "In Your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling." (Ex. 15:13) In Psalm 89 Ethan goes from declaring God's glory to lamenting all the struggles he is experiencing and pretty much telling God off, but he ends it with "Praise be to the Lord forever!" Talk about someone who is going through some bad stuff. But he writes the most beautiful words of worship. What would Ethan, or more notably David, have been like had he not experienced the things he had?
Just one more mystery of God's perfect plan.
This is probably the most commonly posed question I get when faith, religion, christianity, etc. is discussed. Often there is a very apologetic, theologically based answer involved. This is the answer I usually gave, in all my expanse of theological knowledge (ha). I would point to Romans 3 saying that no one is actually good so the question is flawed in and of itself. Blah blah blah. But does that touch the heart of someone who is hurting? No. It's almost always a pretty conceited answer. "I know theology better than you, obviously..." However true, is that the best way to answer the question? Perhaps. Its most assuredly a truth that needs to be understood. But I think that maybe there is a better way to go about it.
These thoughts came to me today as I was updating facebook. My favorite skit of all time is the rendition of Lifehouse's Everything. I was posting the video rather than the link on my profile (busy day, i know...) and I watched it again. That 5 minute skit speaks to my soul. For those of you who haven't seen it, check it out. Its on my facebook profile under posted items. :)
As I was watching the video (for prolly the 100th time) I was still so deeply moved at the redemption found in Christ. It captures so much in 5 minutes that I have experienced and could never put to words. Maybe its because I am more of a visual person than a word person, but I feel like I saw the love of God in a new light that was backed by the truth of the Bible. The Holy Spirit whispers through any means necessary. :)
So back to what I was saying about bad things happening to good people... I think that in life we become jaded. We live day-to-day as believers and followers and the majesty of God gets lost in our jobs, classes, adventures, etc. Not that we always become something to be detested, but lukewarm (which is worse). And then every now and then we do wander that far. Looking back at my life experiences I see how I tried to fill my life with a bunch of crap. Just like the girl in the video. I was absorbed with the things of this world and God took a serious back seat to the point where He was totally unrecognizable in my life. And not that I went out and killed someone and that was the bad thing, but bad things happen when God is pretty much riding on the exhaust pipe.
When I think about who I was before then I see this pretty standard "church girl" that thought she had a pretty good grasp on theology, loved the church, served with her gifts, was confident in God's love, and felt like she had it all together. Even looking back at the type of verses I underlined in my Bible... all were about worship and love and la la la. But I seemed to always breeze by the verses about redemption. "Yeah Yeah Yeah.... Christ died on the cross and redeemed us from our sin." I knew I was a sinner, but I didn't feel a pressing need for Grace because I was a pretty "good" Christian. So I played the part and said I was a sinner in need of Grace when in my heart I felt like I at least deserved it a little.
So why do bad things happen to good people? I would say that people who think they are good are blessed to know that they are not. Bad things really do hurt and have consequences and its not easy to be in a bad thing thinking that God allowed it to happen, or even caused it. But looking back on my life specifically I am so thankful for everything that has ever happened to me. Because I pretty much rejected God for a period in my life, He has shown me just a little better how amazing His grace is. How absolutely ridiculous it is that I can even have a little of it, let alone it all. So I would say its because of God's perfection and GRACE that bad things happen to "good" people. He not only redeems us from our sin, but from our self-righteousness, allowing us to experience what life is like outside of the lukewarm.
I think that these same experiences reveal truth of the Word too. Like I said before, I used to really focus on verses about worship and love and all the light-fluffiness of the gospel. Since I have really loved the verses about redemption and God's faithfulness to His people. "In Your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling." (Ex. 15:13) In Psalm 89 Ethan goes from declaring God's glory to lamenting all the struggles he is experiencing and pretty much telling God off, but he ends it with "Praise be to the Lord forever!" Talk about someone who is going through some bad stuff. But he writes the most beautiful words of worship. What would Ethan, or more notably David, have been like had he not experienced the things he had?
Just one more mystery of God's perfect plan.
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