Every time something bad happens, some people will proclaim that it is God’s judgment. Others completely reject the idea that God’s judgment would come against people on this earth. The former is almost always wrong, reflecting a misunderstanding of God’s heart and wrongly representing how God works. The latter is clearly wrong whether representing God’s actions and words as reflected either in the Old Testament or the New Testament.
In Luke 13:4-5, Jesus gave insight into how to understand horrific events. He said, “‘Those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them — do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish'” (NIV). Jesus was speaking of a tragedy that had recently happened and was on a lot of people’s minds. He didn’t say that the tragedy was God’s judgment. In fact, he said that there was nothing particularly bad about the victims. Stuff simply happened.
He went on to say that whether a person dies tragically or through natural causes in the fullness of time, we all die. And the important question then is whether you have repented or not, because if you haven’t you will perish. Keep in mind that Jesus came so that no one would have to perish, if they would simply believe in Him (John 3:16). Yet those who fail to believe in Him will indeed perish (John 3:18) — not be reconciled to God nor receive eternal life.
If you want assurance that bad things won’t happen to you in this life, the New Testament offers little support. The Bible does assure us, however, that through whatever difficulty you may face, God is with you and will keep you from ever being separated from His love, working for your good (from His perspective) in even the evil circumstances (Romans 8:28,31,35,37-39). And He offers you His peace, even in the midst of darkness (John 16:33, Matthew 11:28-30, Philippians 4:5-7).
While God does answer many of our prayers and intervene to rescue us from many things, this does not always happen. We must learn to thrive with the promises we do have, not the ones we wish we had. But isn’t that what we admire about overcomers? They face adversity, even tragedy, yet receive deep within a peace and a hope that helps them rise when knocked down, and make lemonade when life gives them lemons. It doesn’t mean they don’t feel pain and loss, even deeply. Rather, from the pain and loss, life springs anew, as a seedling from the ashes of a wildfire.
Benefits of Shilajit ES capsule include improved stamina, energy, strength and sex pharmacy cialis drive. Poor physical and emotional health viagra generika can contribute to male impotence. If you have been cialis consultation having problem getting erections in the mornings. The Inner ear infection can be australia viagra quite difficult to manage the same in future. Andy Stanley reminded me in his book that Jesus came to bring grace and truth (John 1:14,17). Grace means that there is plenty of forgiveness in Jesus — enough to cover all we have done or ever will do. But Truth reminds us that there are consequences for choosing to reject God and do things our own way.
In Matthew 11:20-24, Jesus pronounced judgment on Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for not responding to His message and His miracles. He said that Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom will fare better on judgment day than these places that rejected Jesus. And in Matthew 23:37-39, Jesus said that in this age, Jerusalem would be judged for rejecting Jesus — which was realized in its destruction by the Romans in A.D. 70.
From the limited examples given, we see that sometimes judgment comes in this world, though it appears that this is a generally rare occurrence, because God is full of grace. God’s heart is that no one should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Jesus died as an exclamation point to that statement. Yet the truth is that while Jesus’ death made the way for reconciliation, it still requires a response from us. Much of life is about God trying to catch our attention that we might respond, rather than God judging us for our failure to respond.
Next time you hear someone claiming that some horrible event is God’s judgment, just ignore them, because you’ll know what really matters: God’s heart is for every person to be reconciled to God, not condemned and punished. Yet also know that we’re not fine without Jesus, and that when a person continues to reject God and turn away from, that person will perish.
Thank you for this article Tim – I found it very helpful to equip me with language to respond with God’s truth to this heartache. I will pass it on. Your neighbor, Tricia
Great article Tim, thanks for sharing!!!
Thanks for the encouragement and positive comments! I think the Connecticut school shooting affected so many people because we are reminded that many things are out of our control, and we can identify with parents who lost their children. It wasn’t their fault, but it gives a feeling of helplessness and vulnerability.