Wednesday January 21, 2009
These [trials] have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine. 1 Peter 1:7.
Ah! Trials and tribulations, the lot of every one of us. They are a blight on our existence, and if God sent them, then he must enjoy watching his creation squirm. Don’t tell me about a God of love while I and others have to put up with the misery that this world offers. Here’s the defining argument: If God is love, he can’t be all powerful or he wouldn’t allow this suffering; if he is all powerful, he must be evil to allow it. No way out of this one!
For much of his life, C. S. Lewis held this view. But then he started to wonder: if this appears so obvious, why do so many people believe the opposite? It was this paradox that played a part in his becoming a Christian, finding what countless people like Ann and myself have found, that keeping faith in God through the difficult times increases their faith. If our faith is strong now, it is because we have had a lifetime to confirm the truth of today’s text. God is faithful to those who trust him.
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