Lent - His Love EnduresSample

I’ve tried to stop asking the question “why?” when I know I’m not going to get a beneficial answer:

When the colleague drops the work on your desk again

When the grandparent gives the child another lolly that they really do not need

When I myself leave dishes in the sink for me to fix up the next day.

I’ve found that asking, “Why?” is more often than not met with bewildered stares, rather than deep, philosophical answers. And yet, in Jeremiah 44, when the Israelites countered the news of God’s imminent judgement by digging in their heels, God, our loving Father, looked at His children and lovingly asked, “Why?”

“Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves?…

Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands” (vv.7–8, ESV).

Our all-knowing, all-powerful God knew the answer, of course. But like all parents who struggle to fathom why their child would make a choice that leads to destruction, God voices His exasperation over His children’s persistent rebellion. The Israelites in Jeremiah’s time were no different from us. Since the garden of Eden, all of humanity has been grossly warped by sin. Our very cells are broken; we run in glad rebellion away from the things of God. Like the apostle Paul, we are left to wonder, Why can’t I live the life Christ has called me to live? (Romans 7:15–20).

When our questions lead to discouraging answers, and we face the fact that the destruction we read about in Jeremiah is a picture of the punishment we deserve, Scripture invites us to ask a better question. Not why, but who. Who can save us from our sins and spare us from the punishment we deserve?

Jesus! Our righteous Saviour, who took the punishment we earned, so that we might be spared the righteous judgement of the Father. When the weight of our sin feels crushing and the reality of our rebellion overwhelms us, we don’t need to bother with asking, “Why?”Instead, we can rest in the hope found in asking, “Who?”

“Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies” (Romans 8:33). Jesus alone is the answer, and nothing can separate us from His love (v.34,38).