LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.
Christians do not always win in this life. What should we do when we lose?
Losing doesn’t mean we are wrong. History is long and sometimes justice is best served by immediate defeat so that the most good can come to the most people. In a cosmos where everyone is connected to everyone else what is best is complicated.
God knows. He cannot even possibly explain it to us, because the connections to other free will beings would mean betraying their privacy to justify Himself. God is not insecure and we cannot in justice demand He explain what He in justice must keep quiet. God is silent because He must be silent to be just and God is always just.
So we face short term defeat, pain, and suffering without a “full explanation. None of it is good in itself, all the result of the broken cosmos, all to be mourned in itself. The good news is that in the larger order of things, God will bring meaning and healing. It does not help our pain now, but it does give us hope.
The Church faces a time of great pain as the Church in places like the Middle East suffers intense torment. When speaking to people from the region, what strikes me is that they are going on. What else can they do?
“OK.”
“Next.”
This does not mean we cannot mourn, but we can mourn while moving forward to new things.
We are not to live in a spirit of fear. Our suffering is, of course, nothing compared to the sufferings of others now or in history, but it is our suffering. No fool should demand we move on, but we should move on. We must move on. How can we move on?
We want to understand even though we know the complexity of the answer would be too much for most of us and the knowledge we need is unattainable. My mind can become tangled, occupying myself with things too great for me. Sometimes this can become absurd, like believing the Packers’ victory on television was influenced by my cheers. I think that if I personally do not watch a debate my candidate, or the truth, or justice, or something will not happen. I am occupying myself with things too great for me and fooling myself.
This is an illusion of control and I must give up control. I have a free will, but no control over others (and should not even wish it!) or the cosmos. I am not the master, captain of my fate. I am just a man in a complicated world.
Yet nothing is too difficult for God and God loves me. The good is coming, but not when I demand it. Nuts are always saying the End is Nigh because they are trying to control God in their fear and pain. They cannot accept this time of troubles because they hate it. They will bring on the Apocalypse to avoid saying: “OK. This is the way it is. What is next?”
My mother said, “If God wanted to do what you want, this would be the Second Coming.” We cannot demand, or manipulate the Second Coming. God will have as much mercy as He can consistent with justice and do justice when He must. The best takes time. His will be done.
This is very freeing to me. I am not in charge. I can let go this or that and look to what is. There is no reason to fake happiness or hide disappointment, but also no reason to despair. Something better is coming . . . eventually, not now perhaps, but in His Time and it will be good.
Maranatha! Be of good cheer!
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I am thankful for my mom and dad for this discussion today.
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