Ephesians 6:8 “Remember
that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are
slaves or free.”
I started this post, because I’ve been thinking a lot about
whether embracing God and obeying his laws guarantees you are rewarded with
good things and nothing bad can happen to you.
I’ve questioned this a lot even after a year ago finding a comment on a
facebook page by a Christian woman who posted that her husband is leaving her
filing for divorce despite the fact she forgave him when he cheated on her and
was emotionally abusive, but decided to except the divorce. However, one commenter who disagreed with her
decision responded that if she obeyed God’s laws he would reward her. I’m assuming she was suggesting that if she
stayed faithful to God and follow his will, he will reward her by restoring her
marriage, but what if that didn’t happen?
I find myself coming back and forth whether obeying God’s commands
promises the believer under his protection and blessed with only the good out
of life.
I read several cases of
Christians claiming how they prayed to God, obeyed his will and he healed their
diseases or any handicaps, restored their marriages, protected them from tragedy
by it death or other injuries. Many will
turn to the verses such as Hebrews 11:6 “And
without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to
God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him”. Deuteronomy 11:26-28 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: and
the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn
aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that
you have not known”. But
what about those who obey God’s words, pray and read the bible everyday, attend
church regularly and yet receive many sufferings including, illness, loss,
tragedy, divorce and even death. In
fact, many bad things occur to those who follow Christ over the past centuries
and still occur today. I have read
stories of Christian aid workers being killed abroad in Middle Eastern and
African countries or Christians in these countries be persecuted for their
religious beliefs. Even in Western countries, there are accounts of scandals in
the church involving sexual abuse, murder sometimes involving church leaders. The
bible even mentions plenty of righteous people suffering and being oppressed
while the wicked prosper with riches and privileges. In the book of Job, Job was righteous man who
was blessed by God, who then decided to test his devotion by allowing the Devil
to cause him suffering, losing his wealth, his home, his children and his
health to deteriorate. The martyrs mentioned in the bible who were crucified
including some of Jesus twelve apostles such as Simon Peter, Phillip and James,
as well as Saint Stephen, the first martyr, Mark the Evangelist and Saint Paul
Throughout the ancient early centuries and the later centuries there is a history of saints and heroes/heroines who were
martyred for their faith and of course Jesus himself was unjustly persecuted
and later crucified on the cross. The fact remains, many people who spend their
lives doing righteous and honorable deeds experience suffering, persecution and
even killed because of it, while those who commit wicket and selfish acts may
go unpunished for their misdeeds and may being benefit from it through riches
and other privileges. Although I don’t
believe God wants good people to suffer, the reality is that life is not always
fair or easy and the Lord is aware of that. He allows people to have free will
to turn against him and give into Satan’s will by oppressing or committing
heinous acts on others, deserting their spouses and families break the law or
harm themselves with irresponsible and destructive actions like addiction,
smoking tobacco too much, neglecting their health until it’s too late. Or
sometimes suffering such as illness or diseases happen to good righteous people
just because these things are reality in our fallen world where such things
exists. God doesn’t cause illnesses or any suffering to teach anyone a lesson
but allows them to happen for whatever reason whether to test or challenge us
although I myself can’t really come up to any simple answers to this. Now I want go back to the old question
regarding embracing God and obeying his will and how this doesn’t always
rewards us from never experiencing any pain and suffering.
Despite the myth that God will always reward
us with his protection from anything negative in our lives this just isn’t true
or realistic and would be foolish to always think that way. I think the real rewards are that God will
never leave us throughout any suffering or turmoil in our lives. He will be there for us through it all and if
we turn to him he can help us overcome any battles in our lives whether it is
the lost of spouse or relative, a divorce, losing your job, your wealth or
home, becoming penniless, terminal or non-terminal illness, being a victim of
brutal crime or your life is in physical danger at the moment. As we reach out to him, he stands by us and
gives us the strength to overcome any obstacles, to heal from any physical or
emotional pain. Also he doesn’t allow
our hearts to be hardened or give up hope, that there is light at the end of
the tunnel and we can find peace and happiness throughout all the strife even
if that means sometimes healing our sufferings and give us peace is through
death. Also at other times, by allowing
suffering in our lives, God can strengthen us in ways that we never experience,
which could lead us use our strengths that will benefit us or others in the
future as we gain new perspectives. Of
course, sometimes it is possible that God will bless us by curing any illnesses, restoring our abilities from any handicap, save us
from any financial ruin and bring us luck any other ways. Sometimes the Lord does allow miracles to
happen in one’s life, however why he allows it for some and not others know one
can explain.
Rather than over analyze my
he allows bad, pain and suffering into our lives, he should just be aware that
in this fallen world these things will
occur and sometimes we don’t get the outcomes that we want no matter how many
times we beg and pray to the Lord.
However, we should be aware of the fact that the biggest reward God can
give us by having our own personal relationship with him as he becomes our
strength and our guide or our rock in a time of need who will never abandon us
as long was we have faith in him.
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