Things That Aren't Fair

In my work as a pastor, I've come across a few things in the last couple days that just aren't fair.

In his sermon on what it means to live all of life under the influence and authority of God, Jesus said two things about this:

1 - God sends his rain on the just and the unjust and (Matthew 5:45)

2 - Both the wise and the foolish man experience storms. (Matthew 7:24-29)

Your "goodness" is no open invitation to pleasure and no barrier against pain.

And that rain often just isn't fair. Here's what I experienced.

• Visited a guy in the Neurological ICU unit, there because in an attempt to commit suicide, he shot off the left side of his face. His life is forever changed and so are the lives of his wife and two boys. Not fair.
• My close friends have already been through a lot. Tracy had thyroid cancer as a teenager. Their first son has a congenital thyroid condition that requires constant medication and their daughter has SMA, which means she will always need 24 hour care and likely won't live into her twenties. Tracy was diagnosed 2 days ago with breast cancer at 35. Not fair.

So what do you do? Rail against the heavens? Curse God? Curse yourself? Curse the day you were born? Or accept Jesus' wisdom--that the issue isn't what happens (because who of us can control that?)--it's what happens in you and through you. A tough pill to swallow to be sure.

Want more on this? Download Dr. Tim Keller's message on Darkness.