We question why? How can a “good” God allow such pain?
He did not remove it but God literally left his holiness and stepped into a world of corruption, depravity, and wickedness, in the human form of a man, to save it.
Perhaps it is because without the human form he would have obliterated earth entirely because of his holiness.
God wanted to show his love in a way we could understand. Jesus took on all of the depravity of mankind on the cross.
3 days later he came back to life, showing us He is God.
Who else would have power over death?
This is the hope of those who are happily celebrating today.
This is the hope of those who are not.
How is it that some get answers to prayers?
How is that some do not?
It’s easy to celebrate when there was a good outcome.
so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Hold onto that hope today.
God didn’t give to one and not to you.
God gives those who are suffering comfort and peace.
God sees.
God knows.
God is with you.
God promises that one day, he will make it right.
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,so that the life of Jesusmay also be revealed in our body.
As I write, the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is burning.
A cathedral which took 200 years to build.
856 years old.
A landmark.
History.
Parisians were standing by helplessly. Even the firefighters.
There is so much that is bigger than us.
God in his mercy, did not create us to think about this all the time.
Yet, when tragedy strikes, we stop everything and remember
how small we are.
And while there is much pain and sadness at our losses, these things are tucked away in God’s heart.
Because the most important concern on God’s mind is how we relate to him.
On Good Friday this week, Christians remember how the Creator of the universe stepped out of his perfect, holy sanctuary to love the world in the form of a man, his son, Jesus.
We often give credence to the spectacular. It captures our attention.
But Jesus was born in a barn.
He died for sin. There was no other way for sinful man to be reconciled to a holy God.
Through Christians, love should be evident. Love should be the opposite of what people deserve because God loved the world despite what it deserved.
Here is what love is:
Patient.
Kind.
Protective.
Trusting.
Hopeful.
Persevering.
Here is what love is not:
Proud.
Jealous.
Boastful.
Dishonoring of others.
Self-seeking.
Easily angered.
God tells us this:
If it were possible, if one understands all the hidden mysteries of life, have all the knowledge that exists, execute enough faith to move a mountain, give everything they own to the poor, and sacrifice their body to death, but if they did not love, they are nothing.
We would say aren’t all these things proof of my love?
According to God, apparently not.
We can do all kinds of things for God and in the name of God, but not really love.
Love costs us something. It requires we treat others the way we want to be treated.
We can spin it however we want but God knows our heart.
The two greatest commandments:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”
“The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
God wants us to love him and love our neighbor.
The way we do this is we are patient, kind, protective, trusting, hopeful, and persevering.
The way we do not do this is when we are prideful, jealous, arrogant, demanding, dishonoring, self-seeking, and easily angered.
When the world looks at Christians, this is what they should see. We are lights in the world. We represent God’s love for the world.
when it hurts 