certain dealings of God need not be explained. No child has a right to demand of his father that he be in formed of all of his father’s affairs; only a very bold and insolent child would assume such an attitude. Now if you are a parent, many of your actions may puzzle your chil dren, but it is sufficient for them to know that you love and care for them, and do all things for their ultimate good. Very young children do not understand.the interest that leads their parents to take them to the dentist or to the doctor. Think ing only of the pain involved, they may think that their parents are without feelings. A child will often reject with anger that which an older person knows to be entirely good. During the Indian Mutiny, an of ficer on duty had left at home his wife and little daughter. His wife came to his fort for a short visit; the little daughter remained at home with her Indian nurse. Without warning, the Sepoys mutinied, and, rushing through the town, killed every man, woman and child. A young officer, a comrade of the absent friend, galloped on horseback to the house to rescue the little girl. Seizing the startled child, he re mounted and fought his way back to the fort. By then the streets were filled with the mutineers, who tried to cut him down as he sped through their midst. But his greatest dif ficulty was with the little girl her self who kicked, and fought, and struggled to get away from him. De spite her violence, the courageous and skillful officer made his way through the enemy, and placed the little girl safely in her mother’s arms. But when the mother told her daughter to kiss her brave friend who rescued her, i she exclaimed: “Friend! He’s not my friend. He snatched me away from a game I was playing, and held me roughly against his hard saddle. I won’t kiss him! I hate him!” As she grew older, she understood how disgracefully she had acted toward the man who had saved her life, and was much ashamed of it. But do we not often act that way toward God? Some loss or cross comes into our life; something hurts us; we complain against God, and act as if He did not love us, even after such a demonstration of His love as Calvary’s cross. Many times the very trying experience was sent to save us from something that would have meant spiritual disaster. Let us not then reply against God. If, through faith in Christ, He is our Father, we do not need to under stand all of His ways. It is sufficient for us to know that He is the same yesterday, and today, and forever, and under us always are the ever lasting arms of His infinite love. T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
H AY but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?” (Rom. 9:20). How frequently mits this or that to occur. Some feel there are many questions which cry aloud for an answer, to which God is silent. They insist that God can not be God if He leaves them in the dark with respect to these matters. During the last war, men asked: “How can a God of love allow the horrors of war—all this cruelty, in justice, and devastation?” Today they are inquiring: “Why does God permit the ravages of famine to sweep away so many innocent peo ple, who had no part in bringing about the war?” Others are demand ing to know why it is that if God is almighty, He does not reply to all the insults and neglect of man. The Psalmist was also puzzled be cause so much suffering and sorrow fell not on the ungodly, who often went scot free, but on the innocent, the weak and the righteous. Many re-echo his cry of Psalm 73:3-5: “For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.” Of course, the Psalmist found his reply as he entered the ''sanctuary of God, and saw that the moment of pleasure of the wicked would be eclipsed by the judgment of God, and that their good things were only temporal; that only the godly man had the blessing of the presence of God in the fires of trial- Yet for many it is still a question why so many innocent children and others are suffering the results of the self- willed lust for power and possessions of dictatorial rulers. Paul admits that there are some
things beyond the grasp o f our finite minds; that there are some things about which God remains silent. He states that that is God’s prerog ative. “Nay, but, O man, who art thou that disputest w i t h Go'd?” (Rom. 9:20 Marg.). Then he adds these significant words: “Shall the thing formed say to him that formed, it, Why hast thou made me thus?” Man proudly assumes that he has a right to know and to understand all of God’s dealing with him, and the world generally; and that we are fully capable of understand ing God’s ways if He would only make them clear to us. But man is wrong in both assumptions. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8, 9). Personally, if I could understand all of God’s dealings with mankind, He would no longer be God. I know that my finite mind will never be able to comprehend all of God’s infinite ways. Likewise, God’s supernatural Book contains passages that may perplex us. There are sub lime truths in it that are quite be yond us, but if that were not so, it would be a human book; and not the inspired Word of the almighty and all-wise God, which we know it to be. We need not be surprised when we encounter those who reject the claims of Christ, and who conse quently cannot understand anything pertaining to God’s ways. Paul tells us that even the gospel message causes them to stumble (1 Cor. 1:18; 2:14). But we who know Christ as Saviour, and who therefore claim God as Father, need only to con sider the relationship of an earthly father to his children, to realize why
we meet people who complain that they do not understand why God per
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