"As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.'" - John 9:1-3
When something bad happens to someone, we want to believe that they deserve it, because if they don't, then anything bad can happen to anyone, and that's scary. We think we want life to be "fair", but it isn't, and in fact, that's a good thing, because if life were fair, we'd all be in big trouble. The truth is, God loves and forgives us even though we don't deserve it.
But if God loves and forgives us, why then do bad things happen? In general, there is pain and suffering in this world because of sin, but specific bad things cannot necessarily be tied to a specific sin, "for he [God] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45).
We want to understand things, but the truth is, we don't always see a reason for the things that happen in our life, both good and bad. What we do know is that God can use all those things to His glory. Even better, "we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28). We might not see it now, but one day in heaven, the same God who opened the eyes of the physically blind will open our eyes to His full glory and how everything He did was for good.
The one thing we can see even today is God's love and forgiveness that will result in that wonderful eternity with Him. God uses us now to open the eyes of others and share that love and forgiveness with them, too, whether they deserve it or not.
Inspired by Pastor Kevin Lentz's sermon "Whose Fault Is It?" at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE, March 26, 2017.
