A reasonable review of history often reveals a bleak picture concerning the propensity mankind has for selfishness and domination. There are truly evil people, of course, but perhaps more insidious can be our personal callousness toward others. This is particularly damaging when we lose our compass regarding the value of another. We justify unkind or destructive actions within our own cultural perspectives. This happened in Nazi Germany. It has occurred in every century.
The God Story chronicles actions and reactions of many persons over many centuries. You would think the Bible would be filled with examples of perfect people, but just the opposite is true. Like many of these people, we wish to appear filled with admirable strength, but often experience feet of clay. If strength were just a matter of putting the right things in to get predictable results — our lives would be much more satisfying.
√ This is precisely the inescapable issue: we are living in a very imperfect and turbulent environment.
√ Imperfection in forces, events, and people are all around us. All things human impact us at every turn. Imperfection inevitably reaches each of us, causing turbulence from within as well as between ourselves and others. If imperfection is the sea in which we live, turbulence is the activity within each one of our personal pools of life. These overlap with the concentric disturbances of others, and depending upon these people and forces, determine the extent chaos impacts our lives.
Imagine dropping a stone in water. The subsequent ripples occur no matter what we do. In life this repeats over and over, at varying degrees.
I presume that you also wrestle with the question “Why do bad things happen to good people?” How does this reflect upon our view of our probable Designer? Could this turbulence spring from the imperfection all around us and far eclipse our own choices to do good or, indeed, even bad things?
Is God an aggressive observer waiting for us to screw up so we can be punished or perhaps even incinerated? Or is He fully aware of our need for forgiveness and deliverance? From what you know of the God Story, what do you think?
Good questions for the searching soul. Searching with you,
Dave and Burnadette
Related links:
Do you want to be free?
Sad Nation: the Prophet Micah
Difficult Days
A Song: How Can I Follow Your Voice