If/Then Statements in the Faith??? Not always.

If/Then Statements in the Faith??? Not always.

It would seem to make sense that:

-IF a person serves God wholeheartedly, THEN God will let life go smoothly.

This is a common misconception. It's a human idea and it's NOT Biblical. This idea is just as much in error as the idea mentioned in my post "Is it God's Will for His Children to Live in Wealth".

To defend this statement, let's start with a verse from Jesus  

Matthew 5:45

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

It would seem reasonable to believe that, IF I am good and just, THEN God will make my life easy. God will put wind in my sails in all directions that I may travel. God will proper me in my job. My garden will grow perfectly. God will keep afflictions from my door post. Although this would be nice, this picture is nearly the opposite of what we read from Jesus in Matthew 5 above. It's in conflict with the fall of man and his being forced out of the garden of Eden. It's in conflict with reality! How can I say this so confidently? Let's look at Scripture. 

I like to use the apostle Paul as an example. He is, of course, not Jesus and is still a sinner. Yet he is an example of a life well lived. As much as we admire the apostle Paul, and even though churches are named after him (building names like St Paul's Lutheran, St Paul's Cathedral, St Paul's Monastery, etc), God still allows Paul to live a pretty hard life! It's easy to qualify my use of "hard life" in describing Paul's experience. Much of Paul's life is imprisonment, shipwreck, beatings, persecution, being nearly stoned to death, and the like. Even though Paul is on the right track in obedience to the Lord; even though he is a great example of a believer, life is not easy for Paul! Yet, through it all, we are seeing him praising God in prison and in trials. And... we see God delivering him through the trials. Paul's experience reminds me of the Psalm 34 passage, "many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all".

Although many of us have been (incorrectly) trained to think that IF we faithfully serve God, THEN we will be healthy, wealthy, and esteemed by our peers as wise, that is not quite the case. The IF/THEN doctrine, as applied to our temporal life, doesn't come from the Bible. Rather, it is sold by false teachers who want to tickle the listener's ear in exchange for high attendance and wealth, for themselves of course.

A better line of thinking is to focus on two things:

1. "Peace that Passes Understanding" in all circumstances (which I believe Paul had) 

and

2. We need to keep our focus on the end game. Some day there will be no more storms and trials. There will be no more imperfection and sin. There will be no more tears, sickness, and death. See the end of 1 Corinthians 15 (the ultimate funeral/celebration of eternal life passage).

If every believer was to have a bed of roses and heaven on earth, who wouldn't want to be a believer (for earthly reasons)! We believe for spiritual reasons. This earth is not our home, we can enjoy the journey here, but our home is seated in the heavenly realms with Christ, as in Ephesians 2. Also supporting that our Christian life is not a bed of roses, there is so much in the Word about taking up our cross. That doesn't sound easy or fun to me! We do it because of the end goal and because it's right, as in God pleasing. I want to be a God pleaser!

In conclusion, it's easy to believe that the IF/THEN statement always applies to our faith. The good news is that, if we keep our focus on the big picture, it does! So, instead of thinking temporally, situationally, or that our best life has anything to do with this physical life, focus on the end game. Focus on eternal life!

Let's end with a thought from Jesus that includes both trial and more importantly peace and a happy ending with the trial.

John 16:33

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

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