In Luke 9, Jesus and his disciples try to pass through a Samaritan town, but are not welcomed because he is a Jew heading for Jerusalem. The Bible doesn’t explain exactly in what way the people “did not welcome him,” but they must have been quite rude, because two of Jesus’ disciples suggest calling fire down from heaven to destroy them!
It’s easy for us to point fingers, but we can sometimes have the same attitude as those two disciples – and sometimes for good reason. Even in the last few weeks we’ve seen and heard about many people saying and doing terrible things, often brazenly, with no hint of remorse. I’ve heard numerous people wondering, in their own words, what amounts to the same thing. “Why doesn’t God just zap all the bad guys?”
We’re not alone when we wonder this. “How long, O Lord?” cries the psalmist (Psalm 6:3, 13:1, 35:17 and many others!) But Jesus shows us a better way. Instead of seeking judgement, we are to follow Him in proclaiming the kingdom of God. We are to overcome darkness with light, hatred with love, and lies with the truth. When we see everything in life through the gospel of God’s saving grace, then we won’t have to worry about the “Why doesn’t God just…?” questions. He will work through us!
James