Perspective - Winter 2006
Finding God's Perspective
by Jim Murray - CMI Executive Director
Have you ever found yourself asking
God tough questions? If you’ve been a Christian very
long I dare say that you have! One of those times
came for me when my mom went to be with the Lord
seven years ago. Her passing followed a prolonged,
progressively debilitating illness.
Many times I asked what purpose God
could possibly have in allowing one of His own to be
reduced to a fetal position, wasting away to skin
and bones, without even the capacity to communicate.
It was a state that seemed to me to be far worse
than death? Why did He not just take her home to be
with the Lord she loved and served? Wouldn’t mercy
do that?
If you have gone through such
experiences, you may have sought answers to similar
questions. Perhaps you are in a circumstance right
now which seems to make no sense to you.
A few weeks ago, I experienced
similar questions and emotions once again. This time
it was my mother-in-law. My wife Ginny, our
daughters, and I visited the nursing home providing
her care. Since she lives a great distance from us,
we knew that this might be the last time to see her
in this life. I found myself praying, “Lord, she’s
fought a good fight, she’s kept the faith, and
humanly there is no reversing course. Surely there
can be no purpose left. Just take her home!”
Added to such grief was the
difficulty of wandering the halls of that nursing
facility, realizing there were others in conditions
far worse. As with our “Mammaw,” the pain of
Alzheimer’s was taking a dreadful toll on many. What
purpose could there be in God permitting suffering
like this?
In the midst of these questions, I
thought, “If You are logical, God, You would not
allow this!” As I pondered this, another thought
entered my mind. The sweet voice of God spoke into
my heart, “It was not logic that sent My only
begotten Son to suffer and die to pay the price of
your redemption for all eternity. It was LOVE!”
Truthfully, my mind cannot fully
grasp God’s perspective in either of these things. I
cannot fully satisfy my questions—but I cannot deny
His love demonstrated through Christ’s blood shed
for me.
I cannot understand how He created
the heavens and earth out of nothing. I cannot
understand how Mary conceived the Son of God. Nor
can I understand why He would choose you and me to
be His witnesses in sharing the Good News of His
love and redemption for all mankind. But, He has.
So, I believe...and I trust.
We may not have all the answers in
this life, but we can personally know the One who is
the Final Answer. More than this, we have the
awesome privilege and responsibility of proclaiming
His love to the world.
That’s a message worth shouting
about. In 2006, let’s do it with all our might!
EQ Winter 2006
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