hopelessly optimistic
Here's a roughly thrown together, partial response to some objections to Proverbial Paradox. Hopefully, it has some semblance of clarity. My attention was not 100% faceted when I scribbled this down.
Discerning Good and Evil
What is evil? If only good comes from God, how do we reconcile this with many of his acts that have cause so much pain, sorrow, even death?
The first step is to realize that sorrow, pain, and death are not evil in and of themselves, nor are comfort and ease inherently good. Sorrow does much good work in lives: character development, proper grieving over loss, etc... Pain, also is a great good, it tells us something is wrong. Pain is not evil, but a warning that evil may be present in, on, or around you. Death is a result of evil, but still works good, for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
Step two takes us to the throne of judgment. Judgment looks like evil when it comes--pain, death, war, what have you. With Elijah, God stopped the rain for 3.5 years. Apart from the knowledge of God's judgment, one would definitely say that this is evil; ie, famine, the death of the innocents, and so on. But, this was judgment, and God was working good in the people, working to free them from the bondage of destruction through worship of all things false.
Now, we still have problem, though. If judgment looks like evil, how de we perceive God and his goodness in the trials and tragedies of life?
First, I must admit that this is a mystery. Paradox is real, and the clear answer is imperceptible from this side of eternity. But, there are some truths that guide us in discerning who and what is at work in our lives. The way we feel--happy or sad-- is not on those guides. Often, we will know beforehand. All through the Bible judgment is preceded by many warnings and calls to repentance in mercy.
From there, we turn to prayer and contemplation. Are we where we are supposed to be? Are we in step with Spirit in our lives? Thisis where we examine why we are in the situation we are in. Did we follow Holy Spirit here or have we made our own way? What does Scripture have to say about your current way of life.
Our attitude must always be humility, but there are times when we must stand on God's word to us, and recognize that we are in the right place while evil is surely opposing us. Humility also allows us to recognize when we have made our own way, walked in pride, and made ourselves God's enemy--the "evil" we are experiencing is God's tough love working to straighten us and our perversions of good.
Discerning Good and Evil
What is evil? If only good comes from God, how do we reconcile this with many of his acts that have cause so much pain, sorrow, even death?
The first step is to realize that sorrow, pain, and death are not evil in and of themselves, nor are comfort and ease inherently good. Sorrow does much good work in lives: character development, proper grieving over loss, etc... Pain, also is a great good, it tells us something is wrong. Pain is not evil, but a warning that evil may be present in, on, or around you. Death is a result of evil, but still works good, for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
Step two takes us to the throne of judgment. Judgment looks like evil when it comes--pain, death, war, what have you. With Elijah, God stopped the rain for 3.5 years. Apart from the knowledge of God's judgment, one would definitely say that this is evil; ie, famine, the death of the innocents, and so on. But, this was judgment, and God was working good in the people, working to free them from the bondage of destruction through worship of all things false.
Now, we still have problem, though. If judgment looks like evil, how de we perceive God and his goodness in the trials and tragedies of life?
First, I must admit that this is a mystery. Paradox is real, and the clear answer is imperceptible from this side of eternity. But, there are some truths that guide us in discerning who and what is at work in our lives. The way we feel--happy or sad-- is not on those guides. Often, we will know beforehand. All through the Bible judgment is preceded by many warnings and calls to repentance in mercy.
From there, we turn to prayer and contemplation. Are we where we are supposed to be? Are we in step with Spirit in our lives? Thisis where we examine why we are in the situation we are in. Did we follow Holy Spirit here or have we made our own way? What does Scripture have to say about your current way of life.
Our attitude must always be humility, but there are times when we must stand on God's word to us, and recognize that we are in the right place while evil is surely opposing us. Humility also allows us to recognize when we have made our own way, walked in pride, and made ourselves God's enemy--the "evil" we are experiencing is God's tough love working to straighten us and our perversions of good.
posted by Unknown @ 11:44 AM
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