12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. – 1 Peter 3:12
I stroll the aisles of Target with a purchase justification mindset firmly placed in my back pocket more than I would like to admit. On the right day, a day when planets align and all in God’s creation is as it should be, I come across clearance tags that feel like condoned shoplifting. “70% off? Is this a trap?” Recently I bought a Polar Bear cookie jar for $3.05. Mere words cannot describe how incredible this was. His mischievous grin is only enhanced by the red top hat planted firmly on his oversized bear head. As a diabetic, cookies are more a luxury than a daily indulgence. Rarely do I need a pack of cookies let alone a jar in which to put many. There is no doubt I did not need this item. Yet as I continued to peruse the brightly lit shelves, I came up with an iron clad defense on why it was a kitchen necessity.
It ended up on my kitchen counter yet to be fully unwrapped.
We live in the gray. There are many things in this life that are ambiguous or unknown. We tend to feel things out and make the best judgment calls we can, hoping for the best. It is difficult to see the forrest from the trees. While much of the Bible can only be understood through study and context, issues on good and evil are pretty clear. God is always Pro-righteous, or living above the path of least resistance. He calls evil out plainly, knowing we tend to explain away what is to be so obvious. One of our most remarkable gifts as humans is the ability to rationalize anything.
God’s unwavering stance on good and evil is to us, a great benefit. He hates evil as much as you do. He sees the injustice you have experienced. He wishes to make it right. The power of the cross was His response to it. Things are not as they should be, and in this frustration, grace was born. As followers, we are to clear the fog in our mind with honest resolve. We can no longer explain away the evils within us or the injustice outside of us. There is to be a humble labeling of good and evil throughout our days. Honesty always brings about more grace and bends our Lord’s ears to our pleas.
Matt simon blog 