Justice and Mercy Every Morning

Every morning, while being entirely righteous and just, the Lord is still merciful.

The Lord within her is righteous;
    he does no injustice;
every morning he shows forth his justice;
    each dawn he does not fail;
    but the unjust knows no shame.

-Zephaniah 3:5

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.

-Lamentations 3:22,23

Suffering and Rick Warren

I watched this interview excerpt of Rick Warren on suffering and I am speechless... kind of.

Pastor Rick says that he would ask God why there is so much suffering on Earth; however, as the video demonstrates, Pastor Rick thinks he already knows the answer to the "unanswerable question."

"God's will is not done most of the time on Earth."

Paul warns against this thinking:

As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will" But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Romans 9:19-25

Suffering, for the Christian, is a calling. We are called to walk as Christ walked; Christ suffered. We are called to suffer.

Those who are not in Christ are not "innocent," as Pastor Rick put it. They are guilty and the wrath of God is upon them. 

It's not "my will" that causes people to suffer; it is the warning that God's wrath is pending in order for God "to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory."

Sometimes I Think I Am Good Enough...

How is it that I could ever think that I alone have enough merit to please God?

"You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." -Matthew 5:48

That's not possible for me alone, but isn't the Gospel great? The merit that I am incapable of generating is simply projected onto me in exchange for my sin, and ultimately the wrath of God, all by the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. What a great transfer!

So how could I ever slip into a pattern where my gratitude is diminished because I feel that I have the right to any of this?

Oh, Lord! Keep me from this behavior...