Deeper Mysteries

No sooner do I write that blog response last night and God holds up a mirror for me to see myself as I am. It's amazing how often that happens. But that's just a sign that prayer works ... one of my standard requests is that God never cease convicting my heart of those things he wants me to examine and change. He has no shortage of things to work with. :-)

This morning at Bible Study we were studying the book of 1 John; specifically 1 John 5:1-12. Verse 3 reads:

This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. (1 John 5:3, NIV)

Now that is an extremely challenging sentence. I am certain I only barely grasp the basics of what's being said there. But I am certain also that there are some Christians, well advanced in their maturity, for whom that statement makes perfect sense at some deep level.

My point is this: for those of us (me) not nearly so mature in the Christian faith, such a statement as 1 John 5:3 can't be explained -- with any level of satisfaction -- as "Well, it just is ... I just know it." Yet for mature Christians that may very well be exactly how they do understand it ... somewhere deep within them the Spirit has provided the awareness of the truth behind the verse, without going into all the theological underpinnings and supporting connections.

Such it is with the answer behind the "Why do bad things happen to good people question." To one who has suffered a great loss, any answer such as "That's just the way God works," or "It's a mystery" or even my flippant answer of "It's a mystery to us but not to God" are at least unsatisfying; at worst they are deeply offensive and harmful to the Kingdom.

So how should one answer that question?

I'm starting to think that the best way to answer that is not to say any words at all, other than perhaps, "I'm so sorry for your loss." There is a time, I think, when explanations of the faith are not what's called for, but rather a demonstration of the faith. This is nearly impossible for me to do, so hampered am I in the expression of tenderness towards others ... but might not the best response be to be with the person who has lost so much, to sit with them and mourn with them and simply provide love and support?

In time the stricken person may reflect upon the occasion and think how caring the Christian was at that time. An unknown array of good may then come of it ... all by the hand of God. That of course is the deep mystery. But it's an answer that's best left unsaid, it seems.