One of the hardest questions Christians deal with is why God allows bad things to happen to people who believe in him and serve him with their lives. It just seems that if God truly loved the people that love him, he would protect them from painful experiences. But history demonstrates very clearly that God doesn't show any favoritism when it comes to the matter of suffering. One of the most shocking examples of a Christian suffering unjustly is John the Baptist. Here is a man who gave up everything to get people ready for the coming of Jesus. And when the Lord came, he quietly disappeared into the background and encouraged his followers to become disciples of Christ.
It would seem that for all his self-sacrifice and selfless service, John would at least deserve a quiet retirement in the country. But what happened to him was tragic. He was arrested by King Herod because John had confronted the king with a moral problem--stealing his brother's wife. Instead of reflecting on what John said, Herod threw him into a dungeon in a wilderness fort called Machaerus. It was in that stinking pit John spent the remaining days of his short life. And how did his life end, you wonder? The daughter of the woman Herod stole from his brother did some erotic dancing for the king one night when he was partying. Herod got so excited he promised the girl anything she wanted. Influenced by her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. And that was exactly what she got!
The whole story is grotesque. People with character and morals are butchered while the self-centered and ruthless continue in their ways. It's the kind of story which makes even the strongest Christian wonder what God is doing at times. And yet, these questions, doubts and disappointments must be addressed for though we may not be confronted with the kind of unjust suffering John experienced, we too will go through times when we will ask God, "Are you really there for me? Is there something I need to know that you aren't telling me?"
Join us this Sunday (March 6) at 10:00 am. Together let's embark on the path which leads to victory over the doubts and disappointments of the Christian life.
Hawaii Lutheran Church (WELS)
- Community Lutheran Church
- Honolulu, HI
- Community Lutheran Church holds protestant chapel services in Honolulu, Hawaii near Pearl Harbor, HI. We are next to the USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hickam Air Force Base, and Fort Shafter Hawaii. Look for us directly behind the Salt Lake, Hawaii, Target.