The two Moments ...

Tuesday, June 2, 2015. Recently we had a discussion about the even and odd parts of life. How good is life to you? And how much trouble does it cause? Clearly, both is there. Life can be very good. And life can be bad. People can be good. And people can be bad.

The same for the Believer …

The bible contains both moments. It contains the moment of praise, since God helps and God is good. And it contains the moment of lamentation. When bad things reach us, when evil strikes. The world is full of both, the good things and the bad things. And in faith life, both will play its role.

Depending on where you are at the moment, you might see more the good things, or more the bad things. Even the prophets have been killed by people - even those who were speaking in the name of the Lord. They had to suffer. Jesus himself speaks about this in Luke 11:

“Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. (Luke 11, 47) And in Hebrews it is written: 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning;5 they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (Hebr 11)

Not the End …

The trouble is not the end. There is much more. Jesus himself died at the cross, but he did not stay in death. God has planned a good future for us - but his view goes far beyond our current life and our current state. God's far reaching support and help is described in Psalm 121, have a look:

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; 8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (Psalm 121)

Psalm 121 sounds as if the good things should come already now, in this life. God's help is now, not in a distant future only. Jesus himself insisted on God's power to be present in his presence - and he did many miracles. So it is a delicate balance we need to find: see God's power and experience it today - and at the same time see his eternal perspective on our life and on our world. (RWEP) ... more texts