Tough until Eternity

Job 21:7 "Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?" ESV

 

Job is asking the age old question: Why do the wicked prosper? I was just talking to someone the other day and we were discussing how those who live lives that try to honor God have difficulty and those who couldn't give a rip about God seem to live in ease? Why is that? It just seems so unfair…so wrong. It has made some consider God and turn their backs on Him because they can't see the reasoning behind this. Do I have an answer? Not really. It is a very good question. It would seem that God would want to bless those who honor Him and curse those who dishonor Him.

 

Oh wait…He has. The problem with me, the problem with us is that we are bound by this thing called time. We are bound by this thing called the human existence here on this earth. We are stuck with what we see in the here and now, and when we hit hard times it is difficult to take and even more difficult to understand when we believe that we are living our lives in obedience.

 

Take my friend, Joe. He has been battling cancer for many years. They thought they had it beat but it reared its ugly head again and now he is going through chemo. Now this guy is a godly man. He lives for Christ, he anonymously serves others, he is trying to live a faithful Christian life…but he is dealing with some pretty tough stuff right now. Or my friend Gary. This guy has a heart of gold. His desire is to see the men of our church grow. He wants to honor God with all that he is, but he is suffering from unbelievable pain that will not go away. Or my friend Dave. He has been dealing with a problem now for a long time, just had to see the doctor for a procedure yesterday and is very uncomfortable….but a godly guy with a godly family. Or how about the Apostle Paul? He asked God to remove a problem in his life and God told him that His grace was all he needed.

 

Other than building character (James 1) what is the deal with this stuff? Maybe it gets our minds and our hearts set on other things…like the temporariness of this life and the promise of the life to come. "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 2 Cor 4:16-18 ESV

 

Light momentary affliction. It doesn't seem like it at the time, but in comparison with eternity, it is nothing. The wicked? They have all that they are going to get here then there is massive trouble.

 

The point? Focus on eternity.