December 24th: This is the time of the year when I reflect and celebrate the birth of my Lord and Savior. It is also a time when I take comfort in the fellowship of my family, friends, and close loved ones. Yet, it is a time when I am also reminded about the wicked condition of mankind -- even amongst some of those professing their belief in Christ.
Today I was saddened and grieved by a person that experienced a great wickedness by a so-called believer in Christ. Towards the end of her email to me, she lashed out at God as a being an incredibly cruel, barbaric animal as a result of this persons actions. I truly felt for this person and realized in my heart that the Holy Spirit was grieved as well.
The following is an excerpt from my response to her. The name was changed to protect her privacy. It is my hope that in sharing this response, the reader will understand that God is neither the doer nor sponsor of iniquity within this world. And when bad things happen to good people, one needs to consider the source.
Dearest Mary,
My sincere condolences for what you are going though in your personal life. It is no wonder that you feel the way you do and I sincerely empathize with your situation with the kidnapping of your son. Unfortunately, when a person acts in a devious manner, while being cloaked behind Christianity -- Jesus is the one that gets the black eye.
The Bible talks about these false believers in Mathew chapter 7.
Matthew 7:17-19
A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.
Matthew 12:33
A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad.
The bottom line is that there are bad fruit out there and some bad trees as well. To condemn all trees and fruit as a result of a bad experience from one is truly not fair. Do you condemn all fathers when one sexually abuses their own child as horrible as that may be? There are good and bad in every group. The key that Jesus states over and over again in the bible is to have discernment – for you will know them by their fruit. To lash out at God and to blame Him for the sins of the world is not fair as well and I believe that your anger is misdirected to the true culprit.
Jesus states that…
John 10:10
The thief’s (Satan’s) purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose (Jesus) is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
To further illustrate this, Jesus talks in length about false believers as being sown amongst the faithful…
Matthew 13:24-28
Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted tares among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the tares also grew.
“The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of tares! Where did they come from?’
“‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.
Mary, do you know what a “tare” is that was sown amongst the wheat? A tare looks just like wheat but it is a poisonous weed. There are many tares sown amongst the true believers. That is why it is so important that the "Churches of Believers" are to have discernment so they can identity and remove these obstacles to the faithful. Furthermore, Satan will do anything in his power to keep your anger directed away from him and towards God.
In reality, Jesus loves you and is grieved by the pain you are going through. It is my sincere prayer that you will find peace in that love someday – when you realize that He is not the one causing your pain. Until then, I will continue to pray for you and your son.
Most Respectfully,
Pete
http://www.ingodwebetrayed.com
