WHY GOD, WHY?
By William Riley
“Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, ‘But Lord, what of this man?’” (John 21:21)
If you look attentively through the pages of the Bible, you will begin to see an opposition in how God chooses for His glory to be witnessed through the lives of different people. Some, such as Noah, are given seemingly impossible tasks that can be completed only by stretching their faith to the absolute limit. Others, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David and Solomon, are placed in grievous situations and forced to face the most challenging of circumstances. When they complete these tasks by solely relying on their faith in God, they are rewarded with generous portions of God’s favor.
Then, there are those like the disciples and the apostle Paul. Charged with taking the message of Jesus Christ to the known world, they left their homes and families fueled by nothing more than pure faith in the resurrected Messiah. Their rewards were to be only hardships, adversity, death and exile. Somehow, it just doesn’t seem fair, does it?
As believers, we all profess to have faith. But I wonder, when put to the test, what level of faith is actually buried deep within us? It is easy to profess the faith of Peter when enjoying the rewards of Solomon. It is harder to claim the faith of David, when facing the rewards of Paul. We like to think that God allows all of His people to play on one big level field. We can plainly see that sometimes, He doesn’t.
Two men, both with genuine love in their hearts for the Lord, go into the ministry to serve God. One chooses to pastor a church, the other embarks on a missionary journey to another part of the world. The pastor at the church enjoys success and sees his congregation grow steadily. Both he and his church become financially stable and begin to prosper. He spends his career comfortably caring for the spiritual needs of his flock.
The missionary, on the other hand, lives in far less accommodating conditions. Sleeping in makeshift structures. Preaching in areas riddled with poverty, decay and disease. Often traveling into hostile areas ruled by diverse religious practices. Danger is the first thing he sees when he opens his eyes in the morning, and the last thing he sees when he closes them at night. Sadly, more often than we think that they should, missionaries become sick from disease, go missing, or are even killed for spreading the Gospel to those who need it the most.
We wonder and ask why? One who preaches is rewarded with a life of comfort and peace, the other is subjected to a life of adversity. Peter asked Jesus this same question.
The Messiah was walking with the disciples right before His transfiguration back to the right hand of God. Jesus told Peter that the day would come when he would die for His sake (John 21:18-19). Peter was taken aback! He looked at the “disciple that Jesus loved” and said; “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus looked at Peter and said; “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
Jesus told Peter that it was not for Him to worry about the fate of the other disciple, presumably John. It was simply not his business. John’s fate belonged to John. Peter’s fate was his own.
We would all like for the world to see the glory of God in us through the good things in our lives. And, to be sure, some will project the light of Christ through their blessings and prosperity. But, there will be those whose light must shine through during the murkiest of storms. Does one light burn brighter than the other? No, the light of God shines brightly at all times, through every conceivable situation. It cannot be dimmed, hidden or confined.
Those who are chosen to show the love and light through adversity may mistakenly believe that God has abandoned them and attempt to fall away from the faith. Please don’t. The true reward for faith is not what you experience here on earth, but rather what you gain after you have returned to the dust.
One final thought concerning those whose faith is demonstrated through adversity. When you meet them, these people truly do not seem to mind their situations and are even puzzled that we think their lives are less than peaceful. Every missionary that I have ever met has never just done a “one and done.” They keep going back, time after time, into the third world countries, the jungles and the hostile regions of the earth. They do not stop until they are too old, too sick, or worse. This is their great commission for the love of Jesus Christ and God Almighty.
* Reproduced, with permission, from the author's website.
By William Riley
“Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, ‘But Lord, what of this man?’” (John 21:21)
If you look attentively through the pages of the Bible, you will begin to see an opposition in how God chooses for His glory to be witnessed through the lives of different people. Some, such as Noah, are given seemingly impossible tasks that can be completed only by stretching their faith to the absolute limit. Others, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David and Solomon, are placed in grievous situations and forced to face the most challenging of circumstances. When they complete these tasks by solely relying on their faith in God, they are rewarded with generous portions of God’s favor.
Then, there are those like the disciples and the apostle Paul. Charged with taking the message of Jesus Christ to the known world, they left their homes and families fueled by nothing more than pure faith in the resurrected Messiah. Their rewards were to be only hardships, adversity, death and exile. Somehow, it just doesn’t seem fair, does it?
As believers, we all profess to have faith. But I wonder, when put to the test, what level of faith is actually buried deep within us? It is easy to profess the faith of Peter when enjoying the rewards of Solomon. It is harder to claim the faith of David, when facing the rewards of Paul. We like to think that God allows all of His people to play on one big level field. We can plainly see that sometimes, He doesn’t.
Two men, both with genuine love in their hearts for the Lord, go into the ministry to serve God. One chooses to pastor a church, the other embarks on a missionary journey to another part of the world. The pastor at the church enjoys success and sees his congregation grow steadily. Both he and his church become financially stable and begin to prosper. He spends his career comfortably caring for the spiritual needs of his flock.
The missionary, on the other hand, lives in far less accommodating conditions. Sleeping in makeshift structures. Preaching in areas riddled with poverty, decay and disease. Often traveling into hostile areas ruled by diverse religious practices. Danger is the first thing he sees when he opens his eyes in the morning, and the last thing he sees when he closes them at night. Sadly, more often than we think that they should, missionaries become sick from disease, go missing, or are even killed for spreading the Gospel to those who need it the most.
We wonder and ask why? One who preaches is rewarded with a life of comfort and peace, the other is subjected to a life of adversity. Peter asked Jesus this same question.
The Messiah was walking with the disciples right before His transfiguration back to the right hand of God. Jesus told Peter that the day would come when he would die for His sake (John 21:18-19). Peter was taken aback! He looked at the “disciple that Jesus loved” and said; “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus looked at Peter and said; “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
Jesus told Peter that it was not for Him to worry about the fate of the other disciple, presumably John. It was simply not his business. John’s fate belonged to John. Peter’s fate was his own.
We would all like for the world to see the glory of God in us through the good things in our lives. And, to be sure, some will project the light of Christ through their blessings and prosperity. But, there will be those whose light must shine through during the murkiest of storms. Does one light burn brighter than the other? No, the light of God shines brightly at all times, through every conceivable situation. It cannot be dimmed, hidden or confined.
Those who are chosen to show the love and light through adversity may mistakenly believe that God has abandoned them and attempt to fall away from the faith. Please don’t. The true reward for faith is not what you experience here on earth, but rather what you gain after you have returned to the dust.
One final thought concerning those whose faith is demonstrated through adversity. When you meet them, these people truly do not seem to mind their situations and are even puzzled that we think their lives are less than peaceful. Every missionary that I have ever met has never just done a “one and done.” They keep going back, time after time, into the third world countries, the jungles and the hostile regions of the earth. They do not stop until they are too old, too sick, or worse. This is their great commission for the love of Jesus Christ and God Almighty.
* Reproduced, with permission, from the author's website.