The Promise of An End to Earthly Suffering. (And Then What?)

This morning, amid piles of furniture and clutter and dust, we cleared a spot in the living room and shared a bagel. Our house has been torn up for a week while installers finish the new floor. In the end, it will be worth it, but the days drag on.

Then I think of the Haitians who see no end to their displacement . . . or our neighbor who lies in bed waiting for an end to his suffering. What do you say to ease their pain? This, too, shall pass?

One way or the other, there will be an end to earthly suffering. And then what? 

For some, joy will come in the morning. But for those who haven't made peace with God, their future suffering will be far worse than anything they experienced on earth.

Brothers and sisters, forgive me for preaching . . . but we must not allow ourselves to become complacent where the souls of the lost are concerned. Like Noah, we must continue to tell an unbelieving world that judgment is coming . . . judgment that will make our earthly troubles seem as trivial as sharing a bagel in the living room. 
 
God's desire is that all should come to repentance. May we love the world even as He does!

A String of Selah Pearls - Psalm 60:3-4

Positioned gracefully across the Book of Psalms is a string of seventy-one pearls, lovely beads of wisdom followed by the admonition SELAH which means, “Pause, think on these things, meditate.” 

Psalm 60:3-4 “You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger. But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow.  Selah.”

Meditation

Why would a loving God who has openly identified himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob treat his people this way—showing them desperate times, giving them wine that made them stagger?  Why?

One of my favorite Bible passages is Psalm 107.  It begins with, “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”  But then it goes on to detail how this God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob allowed his rebellious people to suffer until they turned back to him.  Over and over again.  The psalm ends with, “Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD.”

Although certainly not all suffering indicates rebellion, Psalm 107 suggests that God, in his loving kindness, made life miserable for Hebrew prodigals so that they would return to the safety of his loving arms?

Remember this the next time someone asks you, “How can you believe in a God that allows suffering?”  It is precisely because of his protective love that he sometimes allows suffering.  The hot iron certainly gets our attention.

SELAH

Look up: Psalm 107:1-43