I pray that you and yours are well. I want to commend all of you who are making the effort to accept the 90-Day Bible Challenge. There's so much daily reading and, now that you're reading the "repeat" of the Books of Kings in Chronicles, you might be wondering whether it's worth the effort. I assure you that it is. You are deepening your knowledge of the scripture and, more importantly, taking time for God in your day. You may not see the fruits initially, but I promise that just as you're paying more attention to God, you're going to notice just how much attention God is paying to you every day.

 

We read through the Old Testament in pretty good-sized chunks each Sunday, but the scope is often hidden by how much more we read of the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. For those of you plowing through the Old Testament and those of you who will read through it one day, you may notice a pattern of confusion or questioning about the way life goes. It's the same confusion and questioning that we experience in our lives today. Why do bad things happen to good people and why do good things happen to bad people?

 

There's a clear line of promise in the scripture about what happens when we lead good lives and when we lead bad lives. Good people are rewarded by God. Bad people are cursed, live shorter lives, and can even be exiled to foreign lands. Yet, as in the lives we know, bad things happen to good people and sometimes good things happen to bad people. Often enough, we wonder about justice and God's plan.

 

For example, many of the prophets (some of God's favorites) are starved, persecuted, and often die early deaths at the hands of evil rulers and those who don't want to hear God's call to a holy life. And on the other extreme, one of the worst kings of Judah is a king named Manasseh. Manasseh worships other gods, brings idols into the temple, murders people, and makes the lives of the poor unbearable. You'd think that he'd live a short life, but he rules Israel for fifty years and has a psalm included in the Bible (Psalm 51, if you're wondering). What can we make of this contradiction?

 

I wish I could share the fuller answer, but I suspect it has something to do with God's nature - a nature that is always loving. God loves all of us, good people and not so good people. Maybe, for us good people experiencing difficulties, it's a teachable moment or a growing edge to trust more in God.  Maybe, for us bad people receiving all of life's goodness, it's a matter of patience - God's patience with us. After all, Manasseh does come around to God's ways later in life. We can't ever know this side of the veil, but it is a comfort and a sign of hope for all of us that God is never quite done with us.

 

So the next time you notice good things happening to bad people, remember God loves them and that God loves you, too. Go and do likewise.