Dec 26 - Psalm 109:31

He stands at

the right hand of the needy,

to save them from those who

would condemn them to death.

Psalm 109:31

Sometimes the faithful are persecuted. Sometimes the faithful die. So if God is standing by, why do the righteous die?

And why do the innocent suffer? Herod killed children after Christmas. Was God standing by … or for some reason was God standing down?

The answer depends on what “saves” means.

If we’re desperate for an immediate solution in this world – an earthly saving – then this passage is not always true. Faithful people are persecuted. They do die. Regularly. Therefore, God is judged as undependable and scripture is viewed as less than true.

But what if we’re open to an eternal solution? What if God’s saving work is always eternal? And what if God’s purposes are ultimately beyond this world? We will occasionally be surprised by earthly rescues – God’s saving work shows up frequently. But if our hope is in the next world, then we “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul,” as Jesus said in Matthew 10:28.

It’s like C. S. Lewis once said, “Aim at heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in.’ Aim at earth and you will get neither.” Or in other words …

•      Trust that God’s saving work will be eternal and you’ll find that he throws in his saving hope on earth too.
•      But if you’ll only accept earthly solutions, you’ll gradually find yourself losing all hope in heaven.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s flying stand-by

(my spirit soars because I know

that God is always standing by)