Faithful are the Wounds of a Friend

“Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” Proverbs 27: 5, 6

 

On Sunday afternoon I wrote an article dealing with the earthquake and tsunami and the resultant devastation in Japan, looking at it from a theological perspective. Perhaps you have read it here on the blog. 

I spent quite some time pouring over and examining every word, seeking to make the issues as clear and compelling as possible for those who would read it. I read and then re-read the article through a couple of times. Then I had the idea of sending it to a gentleman whom I have never met, but who has already become something of a good friend through the internet. I wanted him to look at the article I had written with fresh eyes, so to speak, and I asked for his advice on how to improve it or what I might add to it. I felt something might be missing, but I was not sure what it might be. Boy, was I in for a surprise! 

In that I have not got permission to mention my friend’s name here (he has no idea I am writing this), he will remain anonymous. However, after reading my article, this was his response:

“John,
I affirm everything you said…theologically.

My problem…and the problem I have with almost all Reformed and Calvinistic folks when speaking of these things is that we don’t evince a shred of compassion or understanding. We think playing the hard doctrine card is sufficient to address broken hearts and broken lives… and I’m here to tell you it’s not.

Until we learn to mourn with those who mourn and weep with those who weep, few will be attracted to the truth we have to share. Mix in some compassion and understanding… because I sense that you have great measures of both to give.

The article is good and sound theology…but it can be so much more.

Please hear me…I’m not trying to be critical of you in a personal way at all. I just believe you have much more to give…” Keep Reading>>>

Tsunami, Sovereignty, and Mercy

“The waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me. . . This God—his way is perfect” (2 Samuel 22:5, 31). 

After the loss of his ten children owing to a “natural disaster” (Job 1:19), Job said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). At the end of the book, the inspired writer confirms Job’s understanding of what happened. He says Job’s brothers and sisters “comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). This has several crucial implications for us as we think about the calamity in the Indian Ocean.

1) Satan is not ultimate, God is.

Satan had a hand in Job’s misery, but not the decisive hand. God gave Satan permission to afflict Job (Job 1:12; 2:10). But Job and the writer of this book treat God as the ultimate and decisive cause. When Satan afflicts Job with sores, Job says to his wife, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10), and the writer calls these satanic sores “the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). So Satan is real. Satan brings misery. But Satan is not ultimate or decisive. He is on a leash. He goes no farther than God decisively permits. Keep Reading>>>