May 25th, 2008 Jeff
“The ultimate reason that suffering exists in the universe is so that Christ might display the greatness of the glory of the grace of God by suffering in himself to overcome our suffering. The suffering of the utterly innocent and infinitely holy Son of God in the place of utterly undeserving sinners to bring us to everlasting joy is the greatest display of the glory of God’s grace that ever was, or ever could be. This was the moment—Good Friday—for which everything in the universe was planned. In conceiving a universe in which to display the glory of his grace, God did not choose Plan B. There could be no greater display of the glory of the Grace of God than what happened at Calvary. Everything leading to it and everything flowing from it is explained by it, including all the suffering in the world.”
—John Piper, “The Purposes of God in Suffering,” Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, p. 82
Posted in Blog, God-centered, Jesus, Theodicy, Theology | No Comments »
May 22nd, 2008 Jeff
A while back my email inbox had an article from John Piper in it: "When Satan Hurts Christ’s People: Reflections on Why Christians Suffer Losses ." Knowing loss (to some degree) first hand in my life and desiring to want to learn how to grieve better, I was enamored with the topic. Indeed "Why?" is one of the predominant questions in our society, and we as Christians want to not just give pat answers (argh!) but to love and encourage and be able to communicate God’s answers (which people may not want) for questions they are asking, and in forms they can readily grasp.
In this article pastor Piper was noting about a recent lesson while reading from Revelation chapter 2 with his young daugther, and the questions they discussed as a result. The main question he asked his daughter was, "Is Jesus stronger than the devil?" Yes, but how; and then why is there suffering and pain and evil? Near the end of brief article he pointed to the mysterious ways of God:
"We cannot answer every why question. But there is always this answer: My faith is being tested. And our Lord never wastes his tests. Whether we believe this truth is, in fact, part of the test. In the mind of Jesus, the promise that he would give them the crown of life was enough to sustain the Christians in Smyrna."
[Read the entire brief article ]
One thing I appreciate about Piper is that he does not shrink away from wrestling with difficult subjects, and has a passion for people while wanting to have as much clarity from God Almighty to speak into situations.
Whatever comes our way, may Jesus graciously hold us in His sovereign hands.
Posted in Blog, Sanctification, Theodicy, Theology | No Comments »
April 28th, 2008 Jeff
Michael Patton has a helpful post on what it means for a Calvinist (like me) to believe in free will, while not believing in it. All depends on what one means by ‘free will.’
Does free will mean:
- That a person is not forced from the outside to make a choice?
- That a person is responsible for his or her choices?
- That a person is the active agent in a choice made?
- That a person is free to do whatever they desire?
- That a person has the ability to choose contrary to their nature (who they are)?
For the record I agree with the first three statements, and not the forth. Nor do I believe the fifth, since our will cannot act contrary to our nature. Thus, I don’t believe we have libertarian free will . That concept seems to be foreign to Scripture, a presupposition or assumption from philosophy and logic rather that God’s Word (and experience I might add).
- Read the whole thing
- Read Freedom of the Will by Jonathan Edwards
- Read Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther
Posted in Blog, Theodicy, Theology | 1 Comment »
March 1st, 2008 Jeff
“Christianity alone among the world religions claims that God became uniquely and fully human in Jesus Christ and therefore knows firsthand despair, rejection, loneliness, poverty, bereavement, torture, and imprisonment. On the cross he went beyond even the worst human suffering and experienced cosmic rejection and pain that exceeds ours as infinitely as his knowledge and power exceeds ours. In his death, God suffers in love, identifying with the abandoned and godforsaken. Why did he do it? The Bible says that Jesus came on a rescue mission for creation. He had to pay for our sins so that someday he can end evil and suffering without ending us.”
- Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (New York, NY: Dutton, 2008), 30.
[HT: Of First Importance]
As I think through Theodicy, I see (by analogy) a stool with four legs:
- God’s Omnipotence,
- His Omniscience,
- His Love & Goodness, and
- His entering into His creation to suffer with us.
I’ve found that many who attempt to give a Christian reason why a good and sovereign God would allow suffering either limit God’s omniscience, limit His ability, while wanting to uphold His goodness. Each of those three must be upheld, but a fourth point must also must be added to the mix, for God is not some distant deity. While transcendent and separate from His creation, He has come near, and remains imminent, working, sustaining, loving. In the incarnation God became a Man, revealing Himself to us in the best possible way. And He suffered with us. (Wow!)
In a cohesive theodicy, all four categories are important, as God has revealed Himself as infinitely able, all-wise and knowing, abounding in love and goodness, and possessing an unrivaled humility that brought Him into this world in the Son. Each of this attributes speak of God’s infinite beauty and value, for He is worth more than we can ever imaging. And since He is glorious, and we are His, what does that make us?
—
I hope to read Keller’s book this year. His wisdom, insights love for God are compelling, and even if he ends up being only half as engaging in writing than when speaking, the book will be well worth its price.
Posted in Blog, Books, Quotes, Reading, Theodicy, Theology | 3 Comments »
October 10th, 2007 Jeff
Kari is continuing her retelling of our story, “The Road to Santa Clara,” detailing our experiences in leaving all for a ministry opportunity a few years ago. The lessons learned along the way have proved to be invaluable, and although we wouldn’t sign up for it again, we wouldn’t trade it for the world. It is a redemptive story of God’s sustaining grace and the depth of friendship in the midst of confusion and frustrating circumstances.
The entire story is now up:
Ch. 1: The Phone Call | Ch. 2: The U-turn | Ch. 3: The Jeep | Ch. 4: The Apartment | Ch. 5: The Meeting | Ch. 6: The Rack | Ch. 7: The Barium Vials | Ch. 8: The Interview | Ch. 9: The Coffee Shop | Ch. 10: The Memorial Service | Ch. 11: The Seifers | Ch. 12: The Right Stuff | Ch. 13: The Acropolis | Ch. 14: The Home Fellowship | Ch. 15: The Settlers of Catan | Ch. 16: The Valentine Dinner | Ch. 17: The SonShiners | Ch. 18: The Road Home | The Epilogue
Posted in Adventures, Blog, Faithfulness, Kari, Reading, Sanctification, Stories, Theodicy, Theology, Web, godly trajectory | No Comments »
September 29th, 2007 Jeff
“The greatest sin that was ever committed in the history of the world… was planned by God, namely the death of His Son.”
– John Piper, concluding remark at Wheaton College address (”Treasuring Christ and the Call to Suffer,” part 3), September 6, 2007.
—
What is God’s relation to sin and evil? Consider these brief four-part offerings from Desiring God:
- Does God Author Sin?
- Does God Cause Sin?
- Does God Permit Sin?
- The Author-Story Model
Posted in Blog, God-centered, Gospel, Quotes, Theodicy, Theology | No Comments »
