Full of Questions but trusting God for the answers in Jesus!

What causes you to doubt God’s love? What causes you to doubt there is even a God who is the Loving Lord of all?

Last Sunday the assigned Gospel Reading for the twelfth Sunday after Pentecost was John 6:35-51. In this reading Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35) From the perspective of a Christian believer in the 21st century, we can understand that assertion of Jesus, in part at least. After all, Jesus gives life because He is The Creator. (John 1:3) After all, Jesus gives life through forgiveness won in His agony and death on the cross, and won in His rising from the dead. In addition, for many Christians, we hear Jesus’ words on the night He was betrayed as He taught, “Take and eat. This is my body.” We know in this sacrament, Jesus is “The Bread of Life!” In many ways, as Christian believers, we can start to understand that Jesus is the bread of life. Life is fuller in this world because of Him. Eternal life comes from Him. We want Jesus.

But, Jesus’ words in John 6 also led to misunderstanding, to doubt, and to rejection by the religious leaders of His day. Jesus had further explained, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me,” (John 6:38) Listen to the reaction of those leaders. "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?" (John 6:42). These people did not understand Jesus, and they doubted that Jesus could be the bread of life. “How can someone we know say ‘He came down from heaven!!” So, sadly, lack of understanding led to doubt and rejection.

I have recently encountered a number of situations where people question God’s teaching, or His wisdom, because they cannot understand, because life doesn’t make sense.

Two people I know questioned the wisdom, or the love, or even the existence of God because of the evil around us. “How can there be so much evil in the world with so many problems?” Others I know questioned God’s and law and His guidance. “How can God know what is right for our world, today?” These questions led to doubt for those who asked them.

But, in the last few weeks I have known of two tragedies which took lives. Children of God were involved, and died! “HOW can there be a loving God if such tragedies happen?!” Actually, I once read a quote from an evangelism book which put this mystery into a kind of poetry. In the play “JB” (think Job), Archibald MacLeish writes the verse

“If God is good, He is not God.

If God is God, He is not good”

This is the question which the book of Job examines, “Why is there evil in the world?” Such question have and continue to cause people to doubt God’s love and goodness.

So, I have a few suggestions which might help when the trials of life cause us to doubt, or might possibly even lead us to reject God. First, asking “WHY” did this happen? or “WHY is there evil?” is actually the wrong question. Scripture is plain in sharing that the Lord created a good and righteous world, and that Satan is the source of evil, and pain, and death. Our sin has, unfortunately, also contributed to the troubles in our world. A better question is “How can I face the evils of life as a Child of God with the love and help of my Creator and Savior?”

Second, God wants us to know that when trials come, He has not abandoned us. Psalm 46:1 teaches us, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” In other words, in times of trouble, when we really need God, He has not left us, He is really there for us. He is “a very present help IN TIMES OF TROUBLE!!” We may not understand how God is working, but He promises that in trouble He is VERY present to help us. Or, as God assures us in Romans 8, “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

Finally, I encourage you to take comfort in the fact that God understands our pain and loss. St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer recently lost a faithful young member, Luke Peltier. This 20 year old child of God was tragically killed in an automobile accident. I personally do not understand why this happened! (But that is not the right question.) I wonder where God’s love and wisdom is, though I do trust that “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) I trust that He is wisdom.” (Proverbs 9) But, please consider with me the most well-known verse in Scripture, John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” If anyone knows what it is like to lose a son, it is God Himself. “He gave His only begotten Son.” He understands our struggle with trouble, with loss, our trouble with pain, and our trouble with death. Actually, in 2018 Luke wrote His Confirmation Essay on John 3:16. Imagine! I might not understand life or God. But He loves us so much He gives His Son so that we might have life. God understands when we hurt!

So, “What causes you to doubt God’s love? What causes you to doubt there is even a God who is the Loving Lord of all?” Please know that God understands our pain. He has defeated Satan and overcome evil and conquered death in the life and the death AND the resurrection of Jesus. THAT is ‘why’ God gave His Son. He is there in our times of questioning. Jesus was right when He taught, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”