Sin and Punishment
Do you believe God punishes us for our sins?
As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. - John 9:1-7
It used to be believed that anything good or bad that happened to us in our lives was God's doing.
He pulls the strings and makes our lives wonderful or miserable, depending on our actions. If we sin, we suffer. So, when Jesus encounters a man who has been blind from birth, his disciples are curious. Who caused this?
What an interesting world it would be if things worked that way, right? It would be clear who was good and who was bad. And no one would ever want to be bad, for fear of the repercussions.
The problem with that view is that there has always been evidence of the contrary. Some people who do horrible things do not suffer pain and punishment. And some, like Job, suffer seemingly for no reason.
It is not fair, but it makes sense in a way. If there is no immediate punishment for sin, we need to be more diligent and committed to living a life without sin, and that is what makes it so hard.
We cannot imagine a world in which all criminals avoid punishment. We want justice and security, so we devise laws to protect us from the bad people.
But God sees it differently. He will deal with the good and bad in His time, not ours.
So, what do we do? Do we let people get away with murder?
Jesus tells his disciples to trust in God. He will show His glory through us, through the good and the bad, and all in between.
Maybe that means we should believe He has a plan to deal with what we don't understand.
Can we leave it at that?
More to come...