The Decay of the World and the Love of God
Do you ever find yourself wondering just how much the Lord loves us? Do you ever find yourself wondering just how good his purposes can be and just how glorious his plans? Do you ever find yourself wondering if God really cares?
I found myself pondering these matters the other day after a friend sent me an article about the precipitous rise of euthanasia in Canada. What politicians insisted would be nothing more than a means to hasten death for those who are terminally ill has actually become a means to prey upon the vulnerable.
While many request euthanasia to avoid pain in their final days, some are now using it simply because they are downcast or impoverished. Veterans who seek help for emotional turmoil are being offered the option of suicide. Those who can’t afford to live are being allowed to die. As the article says, “Since Canada legalized euthanasia in 2016, there has been a strange balancing act at the heart of its medical system. There is a national suicide prevention hotline you can call 24/7, where sympathetic operators will try to talk you out of killing yourself. But today there are also euthanasia hotlines, where operators will give you the resources you need to carry out your wish. Doctors and nurse practitioners are now in the business of saving the lives of some patients while providing death to others.” And all this is taking place before the rules grow even more permissive in the months ahead.
This is just one of many moral abominations that has taken root in the modern Western imagination—a context in which aborting babies is understood to be as inalienable a right as voting, in which even questioning the goodness of assisting children in transitioning from one gender to another (as if such a thing were even possible) is considered contemptible, in which the basic family structure that holds society together is being disparaged and undermined. “Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”
If we were to list all of society’s ills we would be here all day and all night. And it brings to mind one of the Bible’s most sobering woes—one of its most terrifying warnings to those who turn from God’s ways. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” We see all of this before us each and every day.
Yet my purpose here is not to recount the ways in which society curses God, but to consider God’s love for his people. There is a connection between the two. For as I have pondered society’s full-out rebellion against God, I also found myself marveling that he does not just strike this whole world and everyone in it with his hand of judgment. Why does he allow all this evil to continue? Why does he permit people to carry on and even deepen their rebellion against him?
Surely the answer is not apathy. Surely it is not inability or disinterest. There must be some other very good reasons. And the best I can figure is that those reasons must relate to God’s love and purposes.
God loves his people—the people he chose to be his own even before he created this world. Yet clearly not all of his people have yet been saved—nor probably even been born. God’s love for his people is so great that he will continue to tolerate all of this sin and rebellion, all of this hatred toward him, until the last of his chosen and beloved children has been born, has heard the gospel, and has been saved.
And then God has purposes he means to accomplish in this world, the foremost among them being glorifying himself. His purposes in this world must be so good and must bring such glory to his name that he permits evil to continue. For God freely makes use of the evil actions of men to bring about the best of his plans and accomplish the best of his purposes—purposes like the preservation of his people through famine and the salvation of his people through Christ’s crucifixion. Even the greatest evil is God’s servant to accomplish great good.
So the next time you are faced with the sheer depravity of this world, allow it to point you beyond the evil of man to consider the purposes of God. The next time you are forced to consider the rebellion that exists in the hearts of men, consider also the love that flows from the heart of God. You will see that his purposes are so good and his heart so tender that he will continue to allow mankind to rage against him and commit abhorrent acts so that he might welcome in all of his people and further the glory of his great name.
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A La Carte (February 8)
The Lord be with you and bless you today.
Westminster Books has a deal this week on a new edition of a true classic.
Today’s Kindle deals include a few interesting titles.
The Importance of Theological Pairs
This is a really interesting look at theological pairs in the Shorter Catechism.”Many disagreements in theological matters come from only holding to one of two complimentary theological truths. When we grasp both we’ll be able to refute theological error and minister more effectively to others with theological precision and care.”
Marxism’s Long Shadow
This is the second part of a two-part article on Marxism.
Love Is Not a Finite Resource?
“Linguistic tricks are often used to smuggle in destructive ideas.” Indeed. Here’s a new one.
Travel Photographer of the Year Ltd.
There are some lovely photographs on display in the Travel Photographer of the Year awards.
What Things?
“There are moments in scripture that are easy to miss, but they are deeply profound if we take the time to consider them. One of those moments happens on the road to Emmaus. Jesus speaks two words in light of the context that reveals a world of encouragement.”
Preachers Should Measure Twice and Cut Once
Erik Raymond: “Measure twice and cut once. For generations, the veteran builder has spoken these words over a sawhorse to their younger apprentice. Because as the saying goes, when you spend extra time being precise on your measurement, you won’t waste time (and wood) by repeating it over again. What’s true in the wood shop is also true in the study. The preacher must measure twice and cut once when preparing to make an argument.”
Flashback: Pornographic Detachment
Pornography makes sex about self—about personal pleasure and personal satisfaction that has no reference to the pleasure or satisfaction of another person.Good hospitality is making your home a hospital. The idea is that friends and family and the wounded and weary people come to your home and leave helped and refreshed. —Kevin DeYoung
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My Bible-Reading Recommendation for 2023
In my way of thinking, there are two approaches to daily Bible-reading: reading for intimacy or reading for familiarity. Intimacy with the Bible comes by slow, meditative reading that focuses on small portions—deep study of books, chapters, and verses. Familiarity with the Bible comes through faster reading of larger portions—the entire sweep of the biblical narrative. Both are perfectly good approaches to the Bible and Christians thrive on a healthy mixture of the two. There is great benefit in knowing the Bible as a whole (familiarity) and in knowing the most important parts in detail (intimacy). (For more on this, see my article “Intimacy or Familiarity.”)
My favorite daily Bible-reading plan is the 5 Day Bible Reading Program. I have successfully used it for many years and intend to use it again in 2023. I gladly commend it to you.
It has several features I especially appreciate:It is a familiarity plan that covers the entire text of the Bible over the course of the year. Those who follow it will read every word of the Bible in the year ahead.
It is a pseudo-chronological plan that covers the text of the Bible in the order the events happened (with the exception of Job which comes at the end). Thus, for example, the Psalms come at appropriate moments in the life of David, the books of Kings and Chronicles are read in harmony, and so on. This helps set the events in their historical context. Yet even though it’s chronological, it’s only pseudo-chronological. There are Old Testament and New Testament readings each day and the gospels are interspersed through the year. I find this an ideal compromise over a strictly chronological program in which you read the entire OT before touching the NT.
It is a 5-day plan. A benefit of a 5-day plan (as opposed to a 7-day plan) is that there is less chance of falling far behind. At 5 days per week it is far more doable than at 7 days—there is always a chance to catch up. Also, it allows a day or two of reading something different for those who, for example, like to read and ponder the sermon text on a Sunday morning or for those who don’t do personal devotions on Sunday.
It is a free plan. It’s free for the taking! They’ve got a nice little print-out you can download, print, fold in half, and put inside your Bible. It’s got boxes to tick as you complete each day and each week. Or you can use the ReadingPlan app to organize the plan even while reading through Logos, the ESV app, or a printed Bible. Though it is free, they have launched a Patreon account for those who would like early access, access to more features, or who would just like to offer a bit of support.
(Note: Though it comes with an optional “Reader’s Companion,” I do not recommend that component.)The 5 Day Bible Reading Program is a free download and will be available on December 26 (with Patrons able to get it before then). I echo their hope for the program: “God’s blessings rest with those who will read, understand, and live by His Word. May this guide help you to that noble end. ‘Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path’ (Psalms 119:105).”
(Parenthetical Note: If you prefer an “intimacy” plan, I recommend the Reading the Bible with John Stott guides and/or the God’s Word for You series. Both are excellent.) -
A La Carte (February 29)
Grace and peace to you, my friends.
Today’s Kindle deals include a long list of discounts that are going to expire tomorrow.
(Yesterday on the blog: A Freak of Nature (and Nurture))Is it ever right to lie? This article answers the question quite thoroughly.
This article discusses some of the evidence for Jesus that comes from outside the four gospels.
“There seems to be an awful lot of Perfect! going on these days, at least in my part of the world. I told my server at a restaurant that I wanted fries and steamed broccoli to go with my entree. ‘Perfect!’ he said. A nurse read off my blood pressure. ‘Perfect!’ again. When I offered 8:30 as a possible time for an appointment, I heard ‘Perfect!’ over the phone.”
This is a compassionate letter to Christians who doubt. “Sometimes doubt comes upon me like a foreboding cold. I wonder if that was just a sneeze or am I coming down with something serious. The sniffles of doubt increase when I read of natural disasters that bring unfathomable suffering. Where was God during that hurricane? Other symptoms of wavering faith show up when famous Christians espouse heresy or reveal double lives of staggering immorality. I dare to ask, Does this Christianity stuff really work?“
“Everyone knows that an unborn baby is a baby. Most would not go as far as the State of Alabama, with its ruling that frozen embryos are children, but certainly by the time a woman knows she is pregnant what is in her womb is clearly a baby.”
Wes provides encouraging evidence of why pastors need to take the long view of preaching.
I can’t help but wonder how that “nay” will sound before the throne, before the one who creates life, who loves life, who tells us to protect life.
The intent of the cross of Christ was to bring you close more than make you good. He, indeed, will produce good in you, but through forgiveness of sins, you are his, and he is yours.
—Ed Welch
