Every morning, as I'm hanging out with Jesus, I start by thanking Him for the goodness he showed me yesterday. Usually, it's related to good meetings or good work getting done, evidence of the generosity and hospitality of others, and a good night with the kids. It's not deep stuff but it gets me into a posture of gratitude and a reminder of God's goodness before getting into areas of confession and supplication.
Lately, I've had to work a little bit harder to center myself around the goodness of God. A few nights ago, some friends of ours from church lost their 3.5 year old son to a long term illness. We also know folk who have loved ones battling other illnesses, financial struggles, and the like. That doesn't even get into the fact that it seems like there is real evil in the world, both home and abroad that seems to have gotten worse instead of better. Sometimes, the world doesn't feel all that good.
I've been reflecting on Theodicy lately. Theodicy, the vindication of God in the midst of evil, is a tough topic. On the one hand, platitudes like, "the mystery of God," "The LORD works in mysterious ways," or things like that are TERRIBLY unsatisfying. Paul talks about the clay not asking the potter, "why have you made me?", the implication often coming from that that we shouldn't questions God's ways or his purposes. I also find that really unsatisfying, not in the least because it assumes that we don't have any agency in our lives. We are not robots or puppets moved around by God solely for his own enjoyment. Sometimes things suck.
On the other hand, I do have to believe in the goodness of God's plan. I don't like the worldview that says that all of life is meaningless or that there isn't a God who is ultimately in control. If that were the case, the incentives to live a life of love are greatly diminished or subject to my own whims or interpretations. That also seems TERRIBLY unsatisfying.
Where I've landed on theodicy is that eventually, vindication of God's goodness will come. I don't know when and I don't know how, but I know that it will. There is real evil in the world and while God will eventually be victorious, I'm not privy to when that vindication will come nor what my role in that vindication will be. All I can do is live my life, listening to the Holy Spirit and believing that I will be a part of that vindication.
You too, get to be a part of that vindication. Evil exists in the world but it doesn't have to win as much as it does. We, especially those of us who are part of the body of Christ, have an obligation to fight evil and be part of that vindication. Aho, may it be so.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
I appreciate your thoughts on this, Adam! Thanks for sharing them.
ReplyDelete