- For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them. -
Men tend to ignore their mortality. That’s not to say men don’t think they aren’t going to die, they just expect everything to “go back to normal.”
What do I mean? They don’t go to the doctor. That pain in their neck? It’s not a problem and should surely go away in a day or two or a month.
Most of the time, that is a good strategy. That crick was just a crick. Staying on your feet was uncomfortable, sure, but you got the job done.
But, that attitude ignores the warning in this verse. Death comes at times we do not expect, disguised and unfamiliar.
What do you do when someone in your family is diagnosed with a fatal disease? How are you supposed to react and help?
Sometimes we answer that with I can’t be upset, anxious, or pray for anything but God’s will to happen. When someone asks me how I’m doing I turn and say, “God has a purpose!”
Why does that feel trite? Why does it feel thin and unreal? It’s all true, right? Isn’t that the way we would act if we had perfect faith?
Perhaps that is because it’s not the whole truth.
If I were to tell you that I spent the night drugged out of my mind, you would rightfully be concerned and maybe try to convince me to go to rehab.
But if I explained the reason for my drugged state was due to the pain pills prescribed to me by my doctor post-surgery, you would be happy for my evening in opiate bliss.
You must not speak the truth to be believed. You must know and speak the whole truth. A portion left out leads to a confusion and an incompleteness, and we all “know” it.
When Christian’s say that we must be focused on God’s goodness during tragedy, it feels wrong to say they are wrong, but it sure does feel wrong!
Now, why does it feel wrong? We have said we need the whole truth, but can we prove it? If not, might we just be feeling a death throe of the old man?
Is our uncomfortableness not with the lack of truth but with the truth itself?
We need to remember; this world is fallen. That is the message of Genesis. What does that mean?
It means the goodness started at creation has been marred. Who is good? No one. What was good in Genesis? Every created thing.
Death, sweat for bread, and pain in new life are not a part of God’s perfect, fulfilled plan. They are a consequence for not listening.
That means there is tragedy in this world that we need to work to eradicate. Is that not why Jesus came? To be a perfect sacrifice for our misdeeds?
While He was here, did He not weep for His dead friend, Lazarus?
But Hunter, did He not cry for their lack of belief?
That doesn’t seem to be how Jesus reacts to unbelief in the Gospels. He usually responds to unbelief with instruction or rebuke.
In fact, He only cries one other time. When He asks the cup of His own death to be removed.
Here is the whole truth: tragedy is part of God’s plan, for love’s existence requires sorrow.
Eyes showing joy and grief show truth.
Share this post