"He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." ~Proverbs 13:24
Let us examine this question - "Does God love us"?
Seemingly a simple question with quite an obvious answer, yet subtly it can render some forms of serious discussions. How do we approach this question then? One thing for sure, it is definitely not exclusive to Christians circle. As a matter of fact, non-believers will sometimes ponder upon themselves whether the great Creator of the universe is a loving Being towards His creation.
Surely, this world that we are living on has too many sufferings and hardships. Flip open any of the newspapers and you will find plenty of articles relating to innocent victims, total strangers to many of us, being terrorized or killed; often by inhumane manners. In our recent memories, there were the infamous major catastrophe like the "911" and the "Indian Ocean Tsunami". The former was an erroneous result caused by Man whereas the latter was largely due to the uncontrollable forces of nature. It seems, therefore, that we are being surrounded and hammered on all sides.
In distress, we asked, "Why did God allow such disastrous things to happen to Man?"
The bible says that the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness [Romans 1:18]. Yet we argued that the victims are mainly innocent souls. What grievance wrongs have they committed to deserve such terrible misfortune?
Points taken. As much as our judgemental values attempt to dictate us, we should hold on to such micro views and realign ourselves to a bigger macro view of the entire situation. The world we know and are living on is definitely not limited to these group of unfortunate victims. There are also many other fortunate ones who are living at peace and even some in immersing comfort. Should we then re-conclude that God is loving based on such visible evidences? But who are we to judge the loving nature of our Creator? Our love cannot even compel us to reconcile with our enemies, to feed the poor and needy, to care for the sick and homeless or even to help the widows and orphans out there in the streets. What do we know about love to make any sound verdict out of it? Clearly, we are inadequate in many areas on the topic of love.
So what can we say about ourselves then? The fact remains, we are densely populated all over the world, organised by either geographical locations, languages, races and cultures. It is the rapid communication and technological advancement in the 21st Century that allows us to be fully networked to one another.
Internationally, current news are being broadcasted, often instantaneously, so that no one will be omitted in this mega series of human events. Through the mass media, we can know the next elected President of a particular democratic country immediately after the poll. We will also be exposed to world events like free trade agreements, strikes, syndicate crimes, natural disasters, holiday celebration and so on so forth.
With the widespread of the mass media, pretty soon, most of us will start to share common visions and goals for the entire human race. In fact, the most frequently quoted phase for Miss Universe pageant is "World Peace"! Certainly, this resembles closely to the unity of the people who were building the Tower of Babel in the book of Genesis.
The bible mentions that "we all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way" [Isaiah 53:6]. Indeed, each and every one of us are doing things as we deem fit. When we start scribbling words on a piece of paper, did we ever spare a second of your thought for the trees that were chopped because of Man's purposes. When we are eating extra snacks for supper, did we ever spare a minute of our thought remembering the poor and needy in the Third World countries? Needless to say, the answers are regretfully understood.
Throughout history, Man has been very proactive in the search for newer innovation to improve our quality of life. Yet, we have been acutely passive in our resource allocation to the poor and needy. What an irony! The quest for better life has stretched the social status even wider, leaving the rich richer and the poor poorer. The truth is, we only desire local optimisation but not global ones. Such on-going pursues leave us with one alarming observation, that is, the depth of a Man's heart is unmeasurable.
Man is never contented, no matter how much he has actually gained or achieved. [1]
The Word of God says that Man is sinful and guilty of evil doings; the ultimate being failing to acknowledge our one true Creator. In fact, all has turned away from God. And the bible clearly states that the wages of sin is death [Romans 6:23] - eternal separation from God, our Creator.
Consequently, is this the end of the road for Man? Fortunately, the answer is "NO". The great mercy of God has preserved the remnant offsprings of Man. As it is written, "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." [Lamentations 3:22]
Nonetheless, whom had initiated to mend his evil ways and return back to God? Whom had successfully restored the initial covenant with God? No one, not even one! In response to God's mercy, Man committed more sins and stirred up more wrath against ourselves. [2]
What then, should a loving Father do to bring back His beloved children? Without any divine intervention, how can Man discern the right from wrongs. Do we follow the standards set by the majority? Even those are not sure proof that we are heading towards the right direction. We need some forms of guidance, we need a shepherd's rod - the kind that they used to tend flock of sheeps.
Shepherds will understand that sheeps are very timid by nature. They get frightened very easily. In times of crisis, they will be totally defenceless against the incoming threats. Therefore, whenever a sheep is disobedience and tries to wander away from the flock, the shepherd will use his rod and strike it hard on one of the sheep's leg so as to injure it. The main focus here is not on the injured leg, but rather on the purpose of this harsh reaction by the shepherd. To many, it may seems cruel to break the sheep's leg just because it is disobedience. However, the good shepherd here is trying to save the sheep from foreseeable dangers when left to wander off by itself. Supposedly, if a sheep is left wandering alone in the wilderness, it may end up being attacked and eaten by another animal. Worst, it may even die of dehydration because its timid nature will prevent it from going near any running streams of water. Indeed, not many people can understand the good shepherd's heart simply by observing the outward circumstances. After all, we are not a shepherd by trade. And a true good shepherd will actually carry the injured sheep in his arms whenever he goes till its wound is healed and it is able to roam about freely on its own.
Here is where the rod of mercy comes into play. Mercy because the rod of God does not lead us to death. Instead, it leads us into eternal life. Truly, God delights in seeing His people living in the true light. He wants Man to find the true purposes of our existence. For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to save us so that we can be reconciled back to Him forever. [John 3:16]
In contrary to popular belief, true freedom is not defined as simply lawlessness; rather it is defined as the mental strength or consistency to do the right things, given all our free will, without being influenced from the written laws. Imagine a father deciding to let his son go on a late night party with his friends in a disco pub. If the father knows that his son will always make the right decisions even in tempting environment, he will gladly grant his son not only the permission but the freedom to go. He does not need to lay down any ground rules because he knows his son well. True freedom occurs when we are free to do any task without any explicit rules because the one responsible for us knows that we will always make the right decisions that will result in positive outcomes.
The bible says, "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." [Hebrews 10:16]
In Christ, we will have true freedom because God's laws are now ingrained in our hearts and minds through the help of the Holy Spirit. This means that we will know and do the will of God even without the explicit laws to govern our thoughts and behaviours. And we will gladly submit to God's will because we know that His will brings salvation and hope to everyone who believe.
Truly, the rod of mercy has struck and is now striking on those whom God wants to have mercy to [3]. Instead of focusing on the outward impact, let us realign ourselves to ask what are God's intended purposes in each of these valuable lessons. Perhaps, by doing so, we can then see clearly the mighty arms of the Lord at work - changing the old self in us to a new one; moulding us to be the man after God's own heart.
References
1. Romans 1:21; Romans 3:10-12
2. Hosea 4:2; 2Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:19-21; Romans 1:29-32
3. Psalm 23:4; Proverbs 23:13-14; Proverbs 29:15; Ezekiel 20:37; Hebrews 12:4-13
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