When Jesus had fasted – not eaten – for forty days, the Spirit of God drove Him into the wilderness. There Satan; knowing His need for nutrition; challenged Him to prove His legitimacy: “If Thou be the Son of God, command these stones be made bread,” he taunted.
Satan is ever taunting believers. This is the chapter from which Jesus quoted (Matthew 4:4 & Luke 4:4). “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
“He humbled you and allowed you to suffer.” Deuteronomy 8:3
Of course Deuteronomy was written by Moses. Jesus authenticated that his written word is God’s spoken word. That chapter in Deuteronomy focuses on heeding God-given information so that in a world where suffering is all to common, followers of God can possess a better life – a blessed life – the abundant life – here on earth.
But, why must there be suffering at all?
“As a man chastens his son, so the Lord thy God chastens us.” Why do we sometimes chasten our children except that we are meaning to better their lives?
The wisdom of God is not strange to common sense. God is not hard to figure. Freedom of will comes with crossroads in life. This cannot be otherwise as every parent sooner or later realizes. The creation of beings whose will can go the “Yes” of right living or the “No” of wrong living was to have definitely unintended consequences. Just as we suffer if our children go astray – and they more so – so it became God with our creation that Love would know long-suffering and that people might choose to make a Hell. A mess: literally.
Too, there will be a time when the Lord will separate forever – good from evil. His word to us says, “There will be no hurt in my holy mountain” – in eternity onward after the final judgment – the separation. It’s coming.
The inevitability that suffering would emerge on earth has not been blight on God’s wisdom. He used it and He uses it; for suffering should hasten us to cry out to Him for salvation.
Again, this reality is not foreign to our common sense because every decent parent uses the suffering of our children in the same manner.
Christian understanding is reasonable. We are obviously fooled and falsely informed when religious teachers make a religion out of Christianity. Because the religions of the world heap burdens on men, segregate them as needing their counsel else they cannot know rightly. It is the Holy Spirit, said Jesus, who will “lead us into all truth:” we must be God-taught; and His word is made understood to us by the Holy Spirit: we must, if we will truly live, by “every word which proceeds from the mouth of God.” He does speak and He has spoken. He will make himself know to any whom “Ask: Seek; and Knock.” In fact; “I stand at thy door (now) and knock.” said Jesus; and will come into any who will open the door of their being to me.” Who promised such amazing love comes —- Amazing grace!
Here is the simple answer to and for all suffering. We cannot live by bread alone. We cannot even live on our own. Life is being given us this very moment by God: “We live and move and have our being” because He is to us our sustenance. But He placed us in a world environment that is temporary knowing that some would reach out to Him for that which we all know is missing. “There has to be more to life than this,” we all feel this. And there is!
St Augustine confessed, “My heart found no rest until I found my rest in Thee,” And that is the testimony of all true believers — and it make sense to sound minds — and it alone makes sense of life — and this is “the hope that was set before Him” (Jesus) — and this was why the Lord produced a world out of which many would come to their senses and rush to the wounded side of He who gave His life for ours.
“He humbled you, and allowed you to suffer,” And if this message does not bring us to our Savior, we are lost.
The Father purposed that we would all be saved out from suffering and that suffering would assist us to “choose life and not death.” These are His very words to us. Common sense tells us that we cannot continue to live by bread alone. We pass cemeteries — and visit them on occasion — and the message is there for us to see. Life, life eternal, and the abundant life: is an offer — is a gift offered that must be received.
The Lord says, “I stand at the door – your hearts door and mine – and knock. Oh friends, is it not timely and is it not common sense to open our hearts to Him: to invite Him who invites Himself to us?
Buddy