February 21, 2014

¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!  Matthew 7:11 (NIV)


If memory serves correctly, each time I have heard today's verse taught or preached, the focus has been on the gifts/good things our Father will give to His children.  And I believe that was where Jesus would have wanted the focus when He spoke the words.  

But look at how the verse begins. 
¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil,   (NIV)
¹¹ If you then, who are evil,  (ESV)
¹¹ If ye then, being evil, (ASV and KJV)

I wonder how that phrase set with the original hearers of this passage.  Jesus- mentor, rabbi, friend-  referring to those in the audience as "evil".  Were there gasps of shock?  Murmurs of indignation?  Did the puffed up get up and walk out?   

The recent events right here in Springfield involving the kidnapping and murder of 10-year old Hailey Owens lend support to Christ's assertion that evil does exists.  I find it hard to accept that mental illness, PTSD, chemical imbalance, or any other medical or psychological diagnosis alone could explain why a 45-year old man would grab a young girl off the street and within hours have ended her life.

Satan is alive and well in our world.  He is the "god of this world".  (2 Corinthians 4:4)  In John 12:31, Jesus refers to satan as "the prince of this world".  Satan's influence and the damage he seeks to inflict on God's creation is tempered only by God's hand. 

There are happenings throughout the world that are caused by the natural order of things.  Others are a part of living in an imperfect world.  But such heinous crimes as we have recently witnessed in Springfield, I believe, are the result of a more directed attack and influence of the "spiritual forces of evil". Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

In the end, regardless of why such an act was perpetrated, all those affected by this senseless tragedy need our love and prayers.