The following is an excellent note from Al Palomar. I submit it for your reading and careful consideration.
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I am not interested in the scholarly study of the bible. I approach the bible as a blessed self-help book that will guide me in my understanding God, and help me see how he wants all of us to conduct ourselves before we pass on. It all boils down to the main message of His ONLY begotten Son: love your fellowmen. I capitalized "only" because although He refers to us as His children He has but ONE SON that he begot.
When I teach I deliberately skip any discussion of geography or genealogy because I believe that's something class members can do on their own. At least in my case, what I can't do on my own is answer or interpret the difficult questions posed by the Great Book. For me to attempt to do that would be presumptuous.
One of the hardest is: why do (and did) the loyal servants of God have to suffer? And not only have they suffered, but many of them suffered a violent, harrowing death, Jesus included. Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man because he foresaw that, like an ordinary man, he would feel the pain, the humiliation, the insults and the inhumane degradation that these people he loved would inflict upon Him when His ultimate sacrifice comes .
And God had allowed this to happen in much the same way that he had allowed the devil to inflict all the pain on Job -- all the untold torture that he had magnificently endured.
What does this have to do with all of us? Jesus often admonished his disciples for having eyes that won't see and ears that won't hear. I can hear Him now telling us: can't you see what my Father is trying to say to you? Fear not when tragedy befalls you; don't despair when your health fails or death stares at you ; don't lose faith when evil appears to triumph all around you because when you fail to overcome human suffering, I, your God, the God of Moses and Abraham, will be there for you, and I will see to it that good triumphs over evil.
When I teach I deliberately skip any discussion of geography or genealogy because I believe that's something class members can do on their own. At least in my case, what I can't do on my own is answer or interpret the difficult questions posed by the Great Book. For me to attempt to do that would be presumptuous.
One of the hardest is: why do (and did) the loyal servants of God have to suffer? And not only have they suffered, but many of them suffered a violent, harrowing death, Jesus included. Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man because he foresaw that, like an ordinary man, he would feel the pain, the humiliation, the insults and the inhumane degradation that these people he loved would inflict upon Him when His ultimate sacrifice comes .
And God had allowed this to happen in much the same way that he had allowed the devil to inflict all the pain on Job -- all the untold torture that he had magnificently endured.
What does this have to do with all of us? Jesus often admonished his disciples for having eyes that won't see and ears that won't hear. I can hear Him now telling us: can't you see what my Father is trying to say to you? Fear not when tragedy befalls you; don't despair when your health fails or death stares at you ; don't lose faith when evil appears to triumph all around you because when you fail to overcome human suffering, I, your God, the God of Moses and Abraham, will be there for you, and I will see to it that good triumphs over evil.
Al Palomar
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