luke 13

Read Luke 13 at Bible Gateway.

Today Jesus answers a hard philosphical question. Why do bad things happen to good people (Luk 13:1-5). Bad things do not happen to people who are worse sinners than every one else. Jesus puts that long- standing myth to rest. Everyone, including the good people, will perish. The body will perish. But if you would live, repent! He actually doesn’t answer the question “Why?”. Some things are above us to know and understand.

Job and his friends asked the same question. When calamity came upon Job, his friends came to comfort him and instead answered the question of “Why?” by telling Job that surely he was hiding some secret sin. When God showed up to declare His majesty, He was basically telling Job and his friends that none of them knew what they were talking about, for God is great and past finding out. He never did answer the question of “Why?” for Job either.

So what is wisdom? It is wisdom to not try to answer these questions that us humans with our finite understanding cannot answer, and to leave these matters for God. We can trust that God, who is good, merciful, and full of lovingkindness, is on His throne in the heavens, and has everything well in hand. It is wisdom to be prepared today and every day, through repentance, to meet our Maker, for we do not know the day of our death. It is wisdom to live graciously with others today as if it is our last day, and to prepare for our future as if we were going to be here for another 100 years.