Theodicy And Salvation

by narrowgate

“The Lord hasn‘t forgotten His promise to return like some people think. He‘s just waiting patiently, because He doesn‘t want anyone to go to hell; He wants everyone to turn to Him. But, He is coming.....” (Letters To Street Christians - 2 Peter 3: 9)

In 1710, Leibnitz, a theologian, created the word “theodicy” for something that most of us have battled in our minds at some point. The Funk & Wagnall’s Standard Dictionary defines the word as: “the justification of Divine providence by the attempt to reconcile the existence of evil with the goodness and sovereignity of God.” To put that in simpler terms, it is “the defense of God’s goodness, and nature of being all powerful; in light of the existence of evil.”

When we read the newspapers or watch the telly, we are bombarded with a world gone beserk. We can easily get upset at God when we see the pedophiles preying on young children, violent abuse of others - even for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, wars, AIDS and HIV epidemics, or global warming. Most families in North America either have someone affected by some sort of cancer, or know others that do. The papers this week are talking about the cross between crystal meth and ecstacy hitting the streets, one of the scariest drug combos yet. Where is this all going to end? Why doesn’t God reach out and do something about this? How can God, who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving, tolerate such apparent injustices and rampant evil?

Maybe God is even more upset about it than we are! Since God is omnipresent (everywhere at once), He can see when some young child is taken and abused; a girlfriend or wife that is beaten up; children becoming orphans because of disease, war, or starvation; people affected by other’s greed and lust; and the results from temptations young people find themselves in as the result of peer pressures. If God was sick of the Israelites after He led them out of Egypt, and wanted to wipe them off the planet (Ex. 32: 9-10), what must He feel about our generation? He wants to destroy the earth and bring judgement because of what people do to others. Yet, He holds off. And people keep suffering and dying.

As you nod your head in agreement, here is something for you to consider. Both you and I owe our salvation to Him for holding off!!!

God has been ready to wipe out the human race longer than any of us have been alive. It is only because of His mercy that any of us are still here after so many decades of evil. I became a Christian on August 10 (a few years ago). But, what if His patience had run out on the world on August 9? What if His patience had run out the day before YOU became a disciple of Jesus? One day He is going to pull the plug. He is going to draw a line in the dirt, and whoever is on the wrong side of that line is going to be in BIG trouble. I was raised in a Christian home, went to Bible camp every year, and attended church three times on Sundays. Yet, I balked at making a committment until I was nearly 15 years old. What if God had pulled the plug before I’d committed to follow Him?

When I hear of thousands in China becoming Christians every week, and whole villages turning to Christ in India, Africa, and Indonesia, I know that there are millions of people out there who might come to Jesus is they were given just “one more day.” When we hear about terrible things and we throw up our hands and wonder why God didn’t intervene, we need to thank Him for everyone who has heard the good news and found Him - today.

I am against making “New Year’s Resolutions,” as I am very aware that they last a few hours at the most. However, we daily need to ask God to mold our lives, making us more like Christ in our language, our conversations, work ethics, and inteaction with others. In doing so, we will be reaching others for Christ - while there still is time.