{"id":2263,"date":"2022-09-22T05:20:50","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T10:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2022\/09\/family-takes-world-tour-before-children-lose-their-vision\/"},"modified":"2022-09-22T05:20:50","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T10:20:50","slug":"family-takes-world-tour-before-children-lose-their-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2022\/09\/family-takes-world-tour-before-children-lose-their-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"Family takes world tour before children lose their vision"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This story is heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time: a Canadian family is on a world tour<\/a> so their three children with retinitis pigmentosa can build their \u201cvisual memories\u201d before they lose their eyesight. So far, they have seen elephants, zebras, and giraffes in Namibia before moving on to Zambia, Tanzania, Turkey, Mongolia, and Indonesia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are beautiful places everywhere in the world, so it doesn\u2019t really matter where we go,\u201d their mother explains.<\/p>\n

When good things happen to good people, we tend to credit the good people with little thought for the God from whom \u201cevery good gift and every perfect gift\u201d comes (James 1:17). However, when bad things happen to good people, we tend to blame God even though he \u201ccannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one\u201d (James 1:13).<\/p>\n

If Christians must account for evil in a world we claim was made by a loving Creator, skeptics must account for good in a world they claim was produced by chaotic chance.<\/p>\n

I cannot help them with their problem, but I can offer three thoughts for ours.<\/p>\n

One: Some suffering is the cost of living in a fallen world<\/h2>\n

God allows some suffering as a result of living in a fallen world (Romans 8:22). The law of gravity affects sinners and saints, atheists and missionaries alike.<\/p>\n

If a chess master allows a novice to take back a move, the game can continue; if she allows a novice to take back every move, there can be no game. If God intervened every time the law of gravity was about to harm someone, there could be no law of gravity. He would likewise be forced to suspend all speech lest some words harm some people and even all brain activity lest some thoughts turn to sin.<\/p>\n

In addition, God sometimes allows natural disasters and diseases to show us our finitude and need for his providence and provision. Paul\u2019s \u201cthorn in the flesh\u201d led him to transforming reliance on his Lord (2 Corinthians 12:9\u201310). God wants to redeem our \u201cthorns\u201d in the same way.<\/p>\n

Two: God permits the consequences of misused freedom<\/h2>\n

A health care expert says<\/a> the sharp rise in sexually transmitted diseases in the US is \u201cout of control.\u201d The CDC warns<\/a> that people who smoke cigarettes are fifteen to thirty times more likely to die from lung cancer than people who do not smoke. These are examples of the passive judgment of God whereby he responds to our sins by allowing us to experience their results.<\/p>\n

A parent would never allow her three-year-old to experience the consequences of choosing to walk into a busy street, but she might allow her twelve-year-old to experience the consequences of refusing to do his homework.<\/p>\n

In the same way, God sometimes judges sin by allowing its consequences. He said of his sinful people, \u201cI will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord G\u1d0f\u1d05\u201d (Ezekiel 11:21). Paul reported that the Lord responded similarly to \u201call ungodliness and unrighteousness of men\u201d (Romans 1:18) when he \u201cgave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity\u201d (v. 24), to \u201cdishonorable passions\u201d (v. 26), and to a \u201cdebased mind to do what ought not to be done\u201d (v. 28). He does this to bring sinners to repentance, confession, and reconciliation with himself (1 John 1:9; Proverbs 28:13).<\/p>\n

However, such consequences often affect the innocent as well as the guilty. With congenital syphilis, infected moms pass the disease on to their babies, potentially leading to deafness, blindness, or even death for the child. Second-hand smoke causes<\/a> nearly thirty-four thousand premature deaths from heart disease each year in the US among adults who do not smoke.<\/p>\n

Three: God brings judgment against unrepentant sinners<\/h2>\n

If the consequences of our misused freedom do not bring us to repentance, God sometimes turns from passive to active judgment.<\/p>\n

His warning to Judah is his warning for us as well: \u201cI will make the land desolate, because they have acted faithlessly, declares the Lord G\u1d0f\u1d05\u201d (Ezekiel 15:8). His character does not change (Malachi 3:6). What he has judged in the past, he must judge in the present.<\/p>\n

However, as with his passive judgment, God\u2019s active judgment affects \u201cthe land,\u201d including the faithful left in it. When God punished Judah with exile to Babylon, Daniel was exiled as well. Jesus warned that when Jerusalem fell, \u201cwomen who are pregnant\u201d and \u201cthose who are nursing infants\u201d would suffer along with everyone else (Luke 21:23).<\/p>\n

The spiritual life is a mountain<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s my point: faithful Christ followers must work with urgency for moral and spiritual awakening not only for the sake of unrepentant sinners facing judgment but for our sake as well.<\/p>\n

Transformational encounters with God empower our faith in the face of disease and disaster. And they lead sinners to repentance before natural consequences or divine punishments for their sins affect us, our children, and our grandchildren.<\/p>\n

Jesus called us to \u201cwalk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you\u201d (John 12:35). Either we walk in the light of Christ or we are overtaken by the dark. You and I are moving forward with Jesus or we are moving away from him. The spiritual life is not a level road but a mountain: we are either climbing up or we are sliding down.<\/p>\n

And as we go, so goes the nation we are called to serve as \u201cthe\u201d salt and light (Matthew 5:13\u201316).<\/p>\n

We founded Denison Forum in 2009 to be a catalyst for moral and spiritual awakening. I am more convinced today than ever that the need for such a transforming movement of God\u2019s Spirit is urgent and that the time is short.<\/p>\n

For the sake of our culture as it slides further and further into immorality, and for the sake of our own families and communities, you and I must humble ourselves, pray, seek God\u2019s face, and turn from our wicked ways (2 Chronicles 7:14).<\/p>\n

Then, and only then, will he \u201cheal our land.\u201d<\/p>\n

NOTE: <\/strong>Today is North Texas Giving Day, the single largest day of giving to our ministry<\/em> every year. And each year we\u2019ve taken part, we\u2019ve been overwhelmed by the generosity, support, and encouragement of our donors. Because of donors like you, this day consistently sets our ministry on a firm footing for the following year. If you have yet to give, please consider donating any amount today, and know that your gift will be doubled<\/em> by a new matching grant of $125,000.<\/strong><\/a> Thank you for prayerfully considering supporting Denison Forum.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This story is heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time: a Canadian family is on a world tour so their three children with retinitis pigmentosa can build their \u201cvisual memories\u201d before they lose their eyesight. So far, they have seen…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4396,"featured_media":2266,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFamily takes world tour before children lose their vision<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This story is heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time: a Canadian family is on a world tour so their three children with retinitis pigmentosa can build their \u201cvisual memories\u201d before they lose their eyesight. 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