God's Plan Amidst Tragedy

God gives and takes away. He is sovereign in bringing forth life, and He is sovereign in when that life will end. In the case of people dying young, many would say "He/she died before their time" or "their life was cut short." I know what people mean when they say that, I've said it as well, but is it reality? What I mean is simply if God is sovereign and He orchestrates life, then wouldn't it be true that God knew this person would only live into their 20's or that person would die still a child? If that is true, then that means they lived a full life...according to what God had appointed for them to live. This may seem kind of strange to think about, but when you've known someone who's life has ended at a young age, for some reason the reality of God's sovereignty is quite comforting. It's comforting to know God hadn't intended for them to get married and have a family. The thought that they lost that opportunity only by accident leaves me angry and asking, "why?" But knowing God had a better plan reminds me it's not by accident but by purpose for that person to have been taken. Knowing God has a purpose in all He does is so comforting. We may not ever fully understand that purpose, maybe just have glimpses of it, but that's where faith steps in- "faith is the ASSURANCE of things hoped for, the CONVICTION of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

An example of this is Ryan Rendleman. Died at age 22, two weeks before graduating from SIU. He was driving to do a story for the school newspaper when he was killed in an automobile accident. I believe God had a purpose in taking Ryan life at such a young age. I'd rather think that than trying to take comfort in thinking his death was an accident and all by chance; I find no console in that. Ryan was a wonderful Christian who wanted to do great things or God and help people around the world. One could think that he missed out on his dreams and desires, but I believe that God had something better for Ryan. I know that God will use Ryan's life and death to touch people's lives all over this world, more than he already has done. Ryan wrote in his journal, "For a believer, death is like victory in that we are forever with Jesus. So then, we should grieve if someone dies, but it is a bit selfish because really we grieve our loss in the death of a particular person. If Jesus is their God, we should celebrate!" A website was made in honor of Ryan by his brother Nick, www.ryanrendleman.org.

Luke 8:4-15 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

Today I was reading about Jesus' parable of the sower and the seeds in Luke 8. This was a challenging, and provoking passage for me. I hope it can be the same for you.

Many have heard this parable: the sower sowed some seeds besides the road, and they were trampled and eaten by birds. He sowed some on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew the plant withered because it didn’t have any moisture. He sowed seed among the thorns, and the thorns killed the growing plant. He sowed on good soil, and the plant grew and "produced a crop a hundred times as great." As Jesus is speaking these things, He would call out, "he who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Luke 8:8). So he who has ears that hear, or in this case eyes that read, let him read!

Jesus explains the parable; I’ll break it down by each verse:

11: “The seed is the word of God”- the Gospel. It is the message that Jesus died for our sins and defeated death by rising to life so that we may have eternal life and the forgiveness of our sins through Him alone. It is the good news that when united with faith brings new life.

12: “Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.”- So this is the person who has heard the Gospel message and either rejects it right away or believes it for some time, only to dismiss it later. Either way, this implies a permanent rejection of the Gospel, resulting in not being saved. How can the devil “take the word from their hearts”? Sin. When a person chooses to follow after the lusts of the flesh rather than the Spirit, they have rejected the Gospel and have allowed Satan’s temptations to pull them away from the truth.

13: “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.”- I imagine this person to be someone who follows God when it is convenient for them and feels good. Their faith is shallow- not really a faith at all. You can’t base your faith off of feelings, because when the going gets tough, you’ll be gone. You need to have your roots planted so deep that no pain, temptation, trial, frustration, wind, nor rain will cause you to be uprooted.

14: “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”- This to me speaks to the church in America. We have such comfortable lives. We have houses, cars, clothes, food, entertainment, etc. to keep our senses satisfied. The majority of people in America call themselves Christians, but as this parable states, the seed is choked and brings no fruit to maturity. What good is a fruit tree if it bears no fruit? We in America are very susceptible to letting the thorns of worries, riches, and pleasures of life choke our faith and make it nothing more than a routine, and has no fruit to show for itself.

15: “But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.”- I like how Jesus uses the word “but” here, indicating a change in direction of the parable. His final idea is one that resembles the others, but takes a turn to make a conclusive point as he sums up the parable. The person who hears the good news with a heart that is honest and good and doesn’t turn away from God when things get hard, nor let their faith become choked by all the pleasures of life, and bear fruit of a steadfast Christian, this is the seed that will produce fruit that is pleasing to the sower. These are the qualities of a genuine Christian.
So we have taken a look at four different kinds of people. The first person heard the message of the Gospel and rejected it. The second went along for the ride for a little while until it got hard and didn’t feel as good. The third person’s faith had been put on the back burners, it was not a priority, and was overshadowed by everything else in life. Finally, the fourth person wore their faith on their sleeve, made God THE priority, and produced a crop a hundred times as great as the other seeds.

Which person are you?

To blog or not to blog...

So I'm kind of doing this on a whim... I've not yet been fully convinced that it's really worth it to blog, but here I go!