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Deutsche Version | Wiki Start | Topics Collection vii
Love IV - Loss and Lack ...
Wednesday, Aug 5, 2015. Life can be full of challenges and trouble. Some of it is caused by ourselves. We ourselves are one source of trouble. Other things are caused by others - the bible talks about those who hurt others, about those who seek unjust gain. It uses the word “wicked” and “evil” for those who follow unjust behaviour.
The challenge to keep anger controlled …
For me, anger about unjust behaviour is among the biggest dangers. When I am angry, I tend to free myself from the problems. Yet, anger is dangerous. It can lead to aggression, and we hear about very unfortunate results of uncontrolled anger. In Psalm 37, we read the advice:
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
(Psalm 37, 8-9)
It is quite some challenge, to turn anger into something good. How do you control yourself? It is not an option to just ignore the anger and pretend that there is none. That would not be truthful. But at the same time, to give in and live out your anger is not an option either - since it will lead to agression or destruction of some kind. To deal with your anger is a very personal and individual challenge. We are promised support by the Lord:
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39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. 40 The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him. (from Psalm 37)
Why led into trouble? Where is love? …
Why does God, the loving God, allow trouble? There are at least two key arguments why God allows evil and why he allows loss and trouble and lack. The first argument is freedom: humans are free to make their decisions and their choices. This includes the ability to ignore, hurt or hate others. Love itself is a reason and origin of this freedom!
The second argument is faith itself,
it is our dependence on things, on people, on securities. This argument is a little deeper. God wants to lead us into pure faith, into full trust. He IS trustworthy and faithful. But to learn this, we sometimes have to let go. We have to let our worldly securities go. It is not money, which would hold us. It is not the security of some employment, which would hold us. It is not people, which would be those who can guarantee justice. Only him, only the eternal God, can be our God. All other “Gods”, all other securities and ultimate refuges cannot do this job.
The love, which God has, is deep and strong. Yet it does not mean that we would not be challenged. He wants us to learn wonderful things, love and trust above the first and prominent things. He will lead us through, he will not let us down. Let us choose to follow him, trust him alone, and “take delight in the Lord” (Psalm 37, 4). (RWEP) ... more texts