God's Fairness

I had lunch with a friend to today and part of our discussion was on the “trouble” in this world. Jesus told us “in this world you will have trouble.” There was no ambiguity in His statement. He didn’t say you “might” have trouble; He said you “will” have trouble. We live in a broken world.

That led to some discussion about examples of people who seemed to be in the ultimate trouble – like John the Baptist when he was thrown in jail and about to be executed. He asked a very honest question of Jesus, “Are you really the One, or should we be looking for someone else?” He was admitting that he though Jesus was the Messiah, but his circumstances didn’t appear to be proving that. In other words, he was saying, “Hey, Jesus, I’ve done everything I was supposed to do but now I’m sitting in jail about to be killed. Where are you? Why aren’t you getting me out of this ‘trouble’?”

Jesus did not show up and bail John out and John was executed. What happened? We’re tempted to say, that’s not fair, that’s not right. Were on the verge (or maybe past the verge) of saying, “God, You messed that one up!” But did He?

John had fulfilled his mission in this broken world. John had lived in the wilderness, dealt with strong opposition, and lived on a diet of locust and honey. And it was time for John to hear God say, “Well done good and faithful servant. Come enjoy your Master’s pleasure.” John got to trade in this imperfect broken world for perfect heaven. He left a world of wonder and doubt, to have his faith full realized and to enter into the presence of God. What’s unfair about that? Sound pretty darn good to me!

How about Moses? We look at Moses not being able to enter the Promised land and say, “Hey, God, that’s not right! Moses dealt with a bunch of stiff necked rebels for 40+ years and then You don’t let him go into the Promised land? What gives?”

But let’s take a closer look. What happened when the people entered the Promised land? Did they all grab a La-z-boy recliner, a cold drink and watch football (ladies fill in something that would appeal to you)? No! They had to fight battles (some they won and some they lost). Where does Moses get to go instead? Heaven! Into the presence of God, into a place of no more fighting, arguing or dealing with the brokenness of this world. Which would you prefer?

The Apostle Paul wrestled with this question. He openly wrote about his internal debate about staying here in this broken world and being able to go to heaven. His heart’s desire was obviously heaven, but he also recognized that if he was still on earth then there was still a mission to continue.

Here’s my point. If you’re a follower of Christ and you’re still here in this broken world – then God still has a mission for you to continue. If you know what that is, then continue to fight the good fight knowing that God isn’t through with you yet. If you don’t know why you’re still here…well...it’s time to figure it out. Spend as much time as you need reading the Bible, talking with God, and talking with other Christians until you know what God wants you to do now. Then get in the game, knowing full well when your mission is complete you to will enjoy the satisfaction of hearing God say to you, “Well done good and faithful servant. Come enjoy your Master’s pleasure.”

\