11 of 12 Christian Basics: Surely
A most common complaint about God among skeptics is that he is untrustworthy. Why does he allow suffering, or pain, or death of loved ones, or evil? And yet, although we cannot always see much of God’s design, we do see some of it.
Corrrie Ten Boom chronicles her dramatic journey of faith in her book The Hiding Place. She and her family sheltered Jews from persecution during World War II until they were arrested and thrown into concentration camps. The darkness and evil of the Nazi regime comes vividly to life to readers of the book and viewers of the movie … and so does the faith of Corrie and particularly of her dear sister Betsy. Where was God during all the suffering and pain? Corrie’s answer was that “There is no pit so deep, that God's love is not deeper still.”
Jesus promised “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Corrie and believers through the centuries and across the globe testify that Jesus is with us, especially when things are darkest.
God is trustworthy, says the scripture. The ancient Hebrew word chesed has to do with the trustworthiness of God. It is the most frequent descriptor of God in the Hebrew Bible. “What if some were unfaithful?” the Apostle Paul asks. “Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar” (Romans 3:1-20).
Jesus gave us his word that he would be with us. We sometimes cannot see him when we are going through a difficulty or trial. We often, though, can see him in retrospect. He has given us his word and we have every reason to trust him. His name, Immanuel, means God with us. His presence makes all the difference.
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Jesus taught 12 basics of theology in his Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). The twelve are: Jesus’s authority; Jesus’s divine compassion; heaven and earth; reason and faith; go; all nations; make disciples; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; all that I have commanded; with you; surely (the basic in this article); and the end of the age. The first article in the series is here. To follow all of the articles in the series, click on the word “Philosophical” at the beginning of any of the articles.
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You can see the entire study on the 12 basics of Christian theology here.
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