Why Bad Things Happen To Good People (Part 2)

If God truly cares about us, why does He allow bad things to happen to us?

Well, the answer lies in the premise.

God cares about us (John 3:16). He wants relationship with us (Revelation 3:20). In fact, we were created to fellowship with God. God seeks relationship. But any relationship worth its salt has to be one built on mutual consent. If one party is compelled, coerced, or threatened to be in relationship with another, it’s not a relationship at all. It’s slavery at worst, and an abusive, manipulative relationship at best.

But Jesus said He came to release us from bondage (Romans 8:21, John 10:10; Galatians 5:1). God wants us to be free (Exodus 6:6, Romans 8:2). And He wants us to choose to be in relationship with Him.

This is why free will exists. Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (Revelation 3:20). God doesn’t barge His way in. He knocks and waits for us to allow Him in. He doesn’t compel us to do anything.

This is why it’s so important that we invite Him in to work in our life. He won’t force it. That's not the kind of King he is.

More to come!

God bless,
J.W.

Religion vs. Relationship

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." ~ Galatians 5:1

Recently, my family and I have been reading The Shack by William P. Young. It’s a story about a man dealing with a bout of depression as a result of his youngest child being abducted and murder by a serial killer. The man then receives an anonymous invitation from an unknown source to return to the scene of the crime, where he experiences a life-changing encounter with God.

I won’t give away the whole story, but I do want to address what I consider the book’s primary and most powerful point – and that is the difference between religion and relationship.

As Christians, many of us live our lives in religion. We feel a duty or obligation to go to church every week, to pray before we eat and go to bed, to read our Bible every night, to attend Bible study on a weekly basis. And all that stuff is good.

But without relationship, it means nothing. It certainly won’t bring you salvation or freedom. Rather, religion without relationship will bind you. It’ll handcuff you to laws and rituals and not allow you to experience all that God has to offer.

See, God doesn’t want our allegiance based out of fear or obligation. He wants a relationship based in love and freedom.

It’s only when we focus more on relationship and less on religion that we will truly experience God’s love for us in its fullness.

If you haven’t read The Shack yet, I encourage you to do so. It’ll change your life.

God bless,
J.W.