“To Do Good”

   If we possessed the power to stop an obvious evil, but failed to do so, both God and man would hold us accountable for our sin of omission.

   "To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (James 4:17).

   Conversely, we might suppose that our Lord could prevent any and every wrong, or stop it in progress.  Or could He?   The answer is actually that He cannot do so because God's capacities always originate and operate according to His character.  

    "All His works are done in truth… The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works" (Psalm 33:4; 145:17).  

    The truth, righteousness, and holiness of who God is in heart determines the doings of His hand.  Concerning the matter we address, the prevention or cessation of every evil would not coincide with the perfection of the Lord's pristinely perfect nature.  The freely chosen rebellion of both a portion of the angelic race and the entire human race requires a temporary allowance of willful wrong to continue for a time in order for an ultimate redemption of creation to take place.  "It must needs be that offences come" (Matthew 18:7).  God knows and understands this in His perfect wisdom, and thus, to act differently would conflict with the perfection of His character.  He always does that which is best, and while we may not understand many of His doings, the truth of the matter is that for God, His best presently allows evil to continue and even to often flourish.

   Lacking such knowledge, it behooves us to do the good of seeking to alleviate any wrong that we can.  With God, however, the matter involves a different reality altogether.  This means we must trust Him when He permits evil, trusting that our Lord ultimately works all things together for the good of His creation, and our good.  Indeed, we trust His heart when we cannot understand His hand.  We shall not be disappointed in so doing, and a purified and perfect creation will one day arise thought the presently mysterious, but perfect way of both the hand and the heart of our Heavenly Father.

"We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."

(Romans 8:28-29)

"God… worketh all things after the counsel of His own will."

(Ephesians 1:3; 11)

Weekly Memory Verse

  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.

(Psalm 100:4)