Life Is NOT Fair

Oh my friends.  I'm not really whining today; I'm just really, really sure of this fact:  Life as we know it, is simply not fair.  It just isn't. It never will be. And the sooner we accept that, the better off we will be. 

It isn't easy though, especially when it seems that we are trying so hard to do all the right things. All the things we know are good and noble.  And yet it appears that mean, evil, rotten people flourish.  I know.  I've been there myself, and I've seen people I love suffer things that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.  

Why is that?  Why do good people suffer?  If we are God's children, and God wants only good things for us, why are people who care about God struggling?? My only answer is that satan is the lord of this world.  His time is short, and he knows it, and he will do whatever it takes to take as many people with him as he can.  So if he can help make a rotten human being outwardly wealthy and prosperous, and make it look like the kind, compassionate person is constantly under attack and things are going wrong all the time, he thinks he's winning. But we ALL know how the story ends!

Emotions are POWERFUL things.  They are more powerful than facts (to most people).  Passion can be blinding. If I get really amped up about something, super passionate, highly emotional, it can be very difficult to reason with me.  That passion and emotional can be a force unto itself.  It can accomplish amazing things.  Yet it can also hinder the truth. We can get so caught up in what's "fair" and what's "unfair" that we miss the whole point. 


Even though evildoers of the world seem to prosper, take heart: God says,

  "that though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever;
8but you, O LORD, are on high forever.
9For behold, your enemies, O LORD,
for behold, your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered." Psalm 92:7-9 ESV

So. While the evil people of this world may LOOK like all is well, they are going down.  It's just a matter of time. What then, happens to those of us who have struggled?  

"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:7-9 ESV

*Everyone* will reap what they sow.  If you sow corn, you'll get corn.  It's not rocket science.  If you sow bitterness and destruction, guess what you'll reap? Yup.  Bitterness and destruction.  If you sow hate, don't expect to reap roses.

Even though there are days that seem to go on forever, this life really is fleeting.  Our days here on this earth are finite.  Our days with God, in eternity, are INfinite.  Whatever we must endure for now, endure! For the reward we will receive is spending forever, eternity, never ending perfect days, with our Father God, and His Son, Jesus Christ. In a perfect world.  With perfect bodies.  No more sin.  No sorrow.  No pain.  No tears.  The day Jesus returns is coming soon.  And all the pain will end, IF you know Jesus as your personal Savior. 

One of my favorite verses: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Romans 8:18 ESV

"No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever." Revelation 22:3-5

At A Loss

Today in Connecticut 20 children were murdered by an obviously mentally disturbed young man.  I heard the news today at my husband's work Christmas lunch.  I felt physically ill.  The first words that came out of my mouth: "Who shoots a CHILD?"

I want to be heard very clearly:  This world is broken.  It started with the breakdown of the family structure.  No more do we have the majority of children being born and raised by 2 parents.

In women UNDER 30, over 50% of children are born out of marriage.

In ALL ages of women, 41% of children are born out of marriage.

"It used to be called illegitimacy. Now it is the new normal." (New York Times)

“Marriage has become a luxury...,” said Frank Furstenberg, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania. (New York Times)

Children born in one parent homes have a higher likelihood of living in poverty, of having social and emotional problems, behavior problems, and failing in school.

Fifty years ago this didn't happen.

Fifty years ago children didn't get murdered at school by some deranged 20 year old.

Fifty years ago we still stood and said the Pledge of Allegiance in school, and we still read the Bible in school, and we still prayed.

But then we took God out.  And since then, all hell has broken loose.  Literally.

Columbine.
Virginia Tech.
A movie theater in Colorado.
A shopping mall in Oregon.
20+ children between the ages of 5 and 10, gunned down like animals.
A professional football player killing his wife/girlfriend and then himself.

Precious, innocent lives.  And do you want to know what I think?  I think it's because we, as a nation, basically gave God the finger, and instead of just smiting us right then and there, He left us to our own devices.  We kicked Him out, and He left.  He's not forcing His way back in...that's not how He works.

He's waiting to be asked.  So.  I'm asking.  Lord Jesus, Father God... forgive us.  Come back to us.  God tells us in His Word:
      "If my people, who are called by my name [Christian], will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

And I'm asking the same of you.  This doesn't get any more REAL.  Evil is REAL.  God is REAL.  Today is the repercussions of our own stubborn, proud, arrogance.  Please join me, and ask God back into our Country.