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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Good vs. Evil a la "The Shack"

I have been reading The Shack by William P Young. It has been pretty...hmm, I want to say "thought provoking"...but it has really helped me REMEMBER who I have known God to be.

Most recently I read a part where good vs. evil is described. Anything outside of God, is evil. Seems simple enough. We ALL know that, right? BUT...the passage took it a step further. Anything we as humans deem to be good or evil is really just us "playing God". The book also challenged that things that look obviously good or obviously evil weren't necessarily so. And it really made sense, because Jesus did many things that weren't obviously right or wrong to the people in that time. Of course we believe them to be right...but at the time it really challenged their way of thinking.

So what do I believe is "good" in my life that might not be? There have been a few things this past month. I was already challenged in this area, and this book just really served as a good (Godly!!!) reminder to me that things are simpler when I don't try to control or worry. I need to just relax and enjoy the ride...and trust that God has nothing but His children's best interest at heart.

So many thing around seem so bad...Peter's leg, my friend's baby who has a severe heart defect, my Aunt and Uncle's living conditions, my SIL's sister's husband's cancer diagnosis...but are they really? If that heart defect is within God's will, then it must be good. And what would appear to be something horrible, may in fact not be.

My church meets at a school. Many people have deemed this as "bad", and that "We need a building!". I don't disagree a building would be nice...but something interesting happened in Sept. A man came to know Jesus because we met there. He built a relationship with the pastor, which helped him trust. Previously, he didn't trust "church people". I think God's plan there is pretty obvious. That man now attends our church regularly. I've noticed he even smiles more...(he didn't used to smile...ever really except towards the kids). I'm not saying searching for a building is wrong, evil or bad. I'm just saying that if we had moved before God wanted us too...then yes it would have been wrong/evil/bad. Because God would not have been in that move. (The presence and absence of God is the line!)

So who knows what God really intends with all those "bad" things floating around in my life. Today, I'm going to choose to not play God and decide. I'm going to work at removing "good" and "bad" from my vocabulary, except to mean "Yes, I believe God is in that" or "No, I do not believe God is in that". I want God to be God...so let Him bring all good things upon my life, whether I perceived them as good or not!

If you haven't picked up the book, I highly recommend it. (I'm not done...but hope to be done soon!)

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