A: This is an interesting question that has huge implications. In answering your question, I draw some of my insights from this article (http://tinyurl.com/28hwslu); I encourage you to give that a read if you have time.
I think it’s important to establish that from a divine justice point of view, we are deserving of nothing good. If God is God, and we are imperfect humans that fall short of His standards, then we have no right to demand anything from God. In fact, we should be punished for our sin with death, sickness, suffering, guilt, and every bad thing, in this life and in the life to come; this is what we deserve (Rom 6:23).
This is obviously a very counter-cultural teaching, as the world tells us that we are all entitled to basic rights and freedoms. In Canada, there are basic rights and freedoms that are guaranteed to us in our constitution and upheld by the law. According to our laws, we do “deserve” these things. On a side note, I would argue that these are good things, and that we should uphold basic rights. However, we should be careful not to extrapolate these basic human rights to holding any weight before God. As I stated earlier, we aren’t entitled to anything before God. We simply have no bargaining chips to negotiate with (Rom 3:23). That we are NOT dead, and that some even have a chance to know God, is already more than we deserve; it’s bonus.
As you process that reality, another problem in our thinking is separating the God of the OT (Old Testament) from the God of the NT (New Testament). Most of us are more willing to believe in a God that loves, and forgives, and lays His life down for us. It may seem a shock that the God of the OT could be so cruel as to command His people to kill entire cities. Though this loving depiction of God in the NT is not wrong, it is incomplete. And so is the view of a cruel God in the OT. In the NT, God demanded righteousness of his people, and even went to the extent of striking down members of the church (Acts 5) who tried to deceive Him. That standard for righteousness has not been watered down from the OT to the NT. Jesus asserted that he didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it (meaning he wasn’t undoing the OT). Likewise, the God of the OT was not as cruel as we generally make Him out to be; He showed many acts of tender care for His people, and even for those who were not His chosen people. In the story of Jonah, he mercifully sent the prophet to stop the city from living in sin. When they repented, he gladly spared them. Though the times changed, and the writing styles and authors changed, the God of the OT is indeed consistent with the God of the NT. It is important that we look to both to give us a full picture of God.
In fact, to believe that God was cruel then (in the OT), is similar to believing that He is cruel now. God is unchanging (Jam 1:17). When you look at recent catastrophes, like 9/11 or the tsunami, there were great amounts of death. Victims included men, women, children, Christians, Muslims, atheists, all killed by the catastrophes. As I argued above, none of us are truly innocent or undeserving of death, and none of us have a case to bring before God that “He shouldn’t have killed us”. If you believe God to be omnipotent and omniscient (all-powerful and all-knowing), then the fact that He foresaw these disasters, and chose not to prevent them (even though He was strong enough to), could be seen as cruel in the same light.
In reality, what we read about in the Bible is that God’s ways are beyond our ways. It’s difficult to wrap our heads around, but God actually cares more about the victims of catastrophes and injustices; infinitely more than we do. Remember, He created them (Psa 139). And just because He permits the acts to happen, does not mean He’s rejoicing. Instead He mourns. But everything God does is love, and in some way (that is totally beyond our understanding), God can act in love, expand His kingdom, and yet permit these killings.
I think the proper thing to do in our current position is give thanks to God. Give thanks that you’re even alive (when technically we all deserve not to be). Give thanks that you’re able to repent (if you’re reading this, you have the capacity to repent). Give thanks if you’ve heard the Gospel and accepted it. And give thanks for any other good thing in your life (whether friends, family, food, school, etc). It’s all gravy on top.
[answered by Mark Cheng, Agape Counselor]
