Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
In my vain life I have seen everything; there are righteous people who perish in their righteousness, and there are wicked people who prolong their life in their evildoing. (Ecc. 7:15) “The Riddles of Life” is the title given to a portion of Scripture from Ecclesiastes (Ecc. 7:15-29). This first riddle is a good one. There are bad people and good people who get what the world says they ‘deserve’, but what about the good people who are persecuted and the evil people who prosper in today’s world?
There is a form of Christianity that tells its followers that if you pray and believe enough in Jesus then you will receive monetary rewards on earth. These are usually the same preachers asking for a new jet as if Jesus does not want his pastors in coach or even first class. This line of thought is easy to follow as long as the “wicked” don’t have a dime to their name and the “good” people have a comfortable life. Some might point out that this breaks down in the midst of tragedy, but I would take it a step further to say this line of thought about how faith works breaks down when we actually look at the reality of the world. Every person who is rich is certainly not a saint by any stretch of the imagination. Also, there are true saints and good followers of Christ who still are without daily essentials like housing, daily food, and people who will look after them. This line of theology tells the poor, handicapped, orphaned, and persecuted people they must be getting what they deserve, right? This is the type of thought where someone blesses and thanks God because they were sick and could not go into work on September 11, 2001 to the World Trade Center. But what about the almost 3,000 people that last their lives? Did they ‘deserve’ that? This type of belief about how God works in our lives is exactly what someone in my situation might like to hear. I am white, male, heterosexual, come from a middle class home, left college and seminary with no personal debt, and have had an overall privileged upbringing. Of course I would love to hear the message that I am this way because God is rewarding my faith. In reality I won the genetic lottery in having great parents and siblings. I won the college lottery by meeting the love of my life, my wife Megan. I am not saying that these are not blessings from God (they most certainly are!!). What I am saying is that I in no way DESERVE these blessings more than any other human being in the world. Everyone in this world deserves to be blessed and loved by God and the world. This is why it is so important that Christians and all people should help our neighbors in need. This is why we should seek to rectify the wrong done to the truly good people who find themselves hurting and speak out against the wickedness we see in our daily lives. Further ahead in this passage from Ecclesiastes the author writes, “Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.” (Ecc. 7:20) So what do we deserve from God? Nothing, because our mere existence is a gift. Yet, Jesus took God’s love further and claimed victory over death so that we can enjoy the gift of life for more than just the average lifespan of a human being. We are promised this gift of life will last forever. Not as something we deserve, but something we receive in spite of not deserving it in the first place (Romans 5:8). God’s love is not given to those who ‘deserve’ it, but rather it is given to everyone. I think it is important we think about that as we interact with every person we see day to day. Perhaps even the person you cannot stand is right there waiting to receive God’s love from you. Points to Ponder:
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AuthorPastor Reed is a first call pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Archives
July 2019
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