April 25
“‘The house of Israel says, “The way of the Lord is not fair.” O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,’ says the Lord God. ‘Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,’ says the Lord God. ‘Therefore turn and live!’” Ezekiel 18:29-32.
There are people who say that they have lost all faith in God because there are so many evils and so much hurt and heartache in the world all around us. Sometimes we see innocent people suffering and godly people being persecuted while at the same time wicked and godless people seem to prosper. All this happens in the world that God created. We are tempted to ask a searching question: “Is God fair?”
The people of Israel accused God of not being fair. Rebellious people, as they repeatedly were, thought that they could rise up against the holy, almighty God and accuse Him of doing things that were not fair! The Lord could not remain silent. He had to set the record straight, as we say. He said, “O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?”
Today, too, there are people who want to find fault with the holy and just God. How often have you heard people say, “Why does God allow this or that to happen to me or to someone else? If God is almighty, why doesn’t He put an end to all of this wickedness in the world? Is He really fair?”
If you really want an answer to the question, “Is God fair?” then let God speak for Himself, which He does in Holy Scripture. Search the Scriptures, and you will discover that God is not only fair, but He has gone far beyond being fair in all of His dealings with people. God is much more than fair! God’s Word tells us that all of the evil in this world is not of God’s making. He created a perfect world, and all of the evil in the world is of people’s making. Our first parents listened to the devil and sinned. Then sorrow and sickness, hurt and heartache, disease and death, and everything that is evil came into the world. You cannot lay any evil at God’s doorstep! For all of the evil in the world, we only have ourselves to blame. Now what?
Don’t shake your fist in God’s face! Listen to God, who tells you that He will give you a new heart and a new spirit. Turn to God and receive from His forgiving lips the assurance of peace and pardon. The Lord takes no pleasure in seeing the wicked and the ungodly dying. “‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways!’” Ezekiel 33:11. “The Lord . . . is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance,” 2 Peter 3:9.
God is not only fair, He is exceedingly loving. He so loved you and all people that He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world. Jesus lived the perfect life in our place. He took our sins in His own body to the cross and suffered and died to redeem us. He rose from the dead and conquered death and the devil. He invites us to believe and trust in Him, and He promises, “Because I live, you shall live also,” John 14:19.
We pray: Gracious heavenly Father, give me a new heart and spirit. Forgive all my sins in thought, desire, word, and deed, and strengthen my faith in my Lord and Savior Jesus. Bless my day as only You can do. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.