Here I am to continue our
On part four, I was trying to figure out why the rich man's and Lazarus' lives got reversed. Why, one may think, can't the rich man AND Lazarus have a good life in the 'afterlife'? Why did it have to be reversed? You may even be asking why did Lazarus have to suffer in this life in the first place? Well, I will tell you right away that I do not have the answer to the last question - which, by the way, is a very valid one. Let me try to explain my views on that.
I do not know why Lazarus had to suffer... maybe to show his character, maybe to show the rich man's character, or maybe (more like probably) none of those reasons. The thing is, I don't need to know. Better put, I can't. Why? For one, because I wasn't there. What do I mean by there? There, when Lazarus was designed by God... there, when Lazarus was born... there, when the rich man became or was born rich. There, when they interacted... there, when they died... there, in the 'afterlife'. Basically what I am trying to say is I don't have the whole picture. If nothing else, that would suffice to not be able to judge that situation.
Another reason is because my mind is not capable of doing so. The human brain capability is inferior to God's thoughts. I like it how Chan and Sprinkle put it in perspective: "Let’s not think that spending a bit of time meditating on the mysteries of the universe places us on a level that allows us to call God into question. Our God is not a person who is slightly more intelligent: His thoughts are infinitely higher than ours." (Chan, Francis; Sprinkle, Preston (2011-07-01). Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up (pp. 133-134). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.)
Isn't it amazing how we overrate ourselves? We look at someone's suffering, think about it for a while and figure 'that is just wrong'. On the flip side, we look at a 'bad' person's successes and think the same. God, however, who by the way knows everything, created everything, lives forever AND loves us has the big picture (was there) and has the appropriate mind to make the call who will endure what. The illustration that comes to my mind is of a blindfolded person trying to peel an orange with a spoon. That, if you haven't figured, would be us. Blindfolded (not being there), using a spoon (our limited mind).
It is also amazing how easily we underrate God. Let me quote Chan and Sprinkle one more time to expose my point: "Would you have thought to rescue sinful people from their sins by sending your Son to take on human flesh? Would you have thought to enter creation through the womb of a young Jewish woman and be born in a feeding trough? Would you have thought to allow your created beings to torture your Son, lacerate His flesh with whips, and then drive nails through His hands and feet? Parents, imagine it." (Chan, Francis; Sprinkle, Preston (2011-07-01). Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up (p. 136). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.) My answer to all those questions would be NO, I wouldn't have thought of that, and NO, I would have NOT done it.
But God... The Perfect Teacher... did think it and did do it.
Before I go on, let me point out a key word here: allow. God ALLOWED that and all the bad stuff to happen. That does not mean it pleased Him. God is not pleased by all the evil stuff we see going on in our world. But He allows it to happen. And again, I don't know why. I know I may be loosing some of you here, but here is what it comes to: "The truth is, God is perfect and right in all that He does. I am a fool for thinking otherwise. He does not need nor want me to “cover” for Him. There’s nothing to be covered. Everything about Him and all He does is perfect. Yet sometimes from our human perspective, it’s tough to see exactly how God is perfect and just and good." (Chan, Francis; Sprinkle, Preston (2011-07-01). Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up (p. 133). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.)
And that, my friends, is that. He knows it. I don't.
The funny thing is that my question 'Why did things got reversed for the rich man and Lazarus in the afterlife?' is still unanswered. At least on this post ;).
Hopefully on the next one I will be able to say what I found out about it...
'Till then...
May God bless you and guide you!
The Brazilican Learner
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