Rambling on of Justice and Mercy
Greetings All -
I think my thoughts, though not always clear, are going to just be a continuation of last week's thoughts. Interestingly, they have been on my mind a great deal. As I continue to ponder from 2 Nephi 9. This week's thoughts were all from verses 17-20.
This is an interesting subject, Justice and Mercy. From an antagonistic view, it is hard for some to see God as being Just and Merciful at the same time. I have heard a great deal of that this week from my co-workers in Florida. They all weathered the same storm. Some had trees fall on their houses, some lost windows, some saw water in their homes, and almost all of them lost power. But then there were those who just had some debris scattered in their yards. They did not have any damage, they did not see any water in their houses, and they did not lose power.
How is that fair? This is the question many ask or use in debate to show that there is no God. Or that if there is, He does not care about all of his children. So how do we explain it? Not to play on words, but I will share my thoughts, though I am not sure how much justice I will be able to give to the debate. But this is what I understand from my own personal witness.
When this world was created, God placed Adam and Eve in a garden. This place provided for them. They did have to tend it, but can you imagine a place where there were no weeds, that you did not have to worry and toil over the seeds of the land. The earth provided. In this garden, Adam and Eve were given instructions, commandments if you will. Just like it says in verse 17. With those commandments, God also explained what would happen if they were not followed - death would be introduced into the world. And so it was. This is justice.
But never did He say how or what would die. He just said they would die. As I have been pondering these verses the past few weeks. I understand that death was introduced to all living things, not just man. The plants, the animals, stars, the earth, and all things in it. It was not immediate. It was just introduced. From that moment a choice was made, a series of results were put into place. We ALL, everything, was introduced to a fallen state of existence called mortality, some existences are longer than others, but in the end, ALL must die.
Mercy was given through a Savior, even Jesus Christ, verse 19. How? I know I cannot give it complete justice, but I do have faith in the plan of redemption, mercy, salvation, and/or repentance. He came to the world to be raised up, that we might one day be raised from our fallen state. We, through His Atoning sacrifice, can be freed from the bondage of death, which came as result of Adam and Eve's choice. This ability to be freed is two fold, one a gift, freedom from physical or temporal death, and the other is upon conditions of repentance/change/lifestyles, freedom from spiritual death.
So, where am I going or this just going to be a super long post? With this plan, God also set the condition, verse 18. "...the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world..."
This is where the answer to the question...How is that fair? comes in. The CROSSES of the world. Though there are times that we get to choose the CROSSES we will bear, it is not always the case. Some times mortality happens. It could be the mortality of the earth or weather patterns. It could be a result of other peoples choices or the result of a series of events that started long before we can even fathom. We just know they are placed upon our shoulders and we are asked to endure. Remember, when Christ was being led to Golgotha, His cross was placed on the shoulders of another. Not because Christ put it there, but because another chose to put it there. Some one who, just like the rest of us, was given the gift of agency.
It is because of that agency, that gift, that things happen. IF, we all chose to live righteously, according to the conditions of repentance, believing in the Holy One of Israel, life would be pretty good. Unfortunately, there are many who choose to live according to different rules. As a result, there will be times that we will be asked or forced to carry a heavy CROSS of the world. It has nothing to do about fair, it is just how it happens.
The question at hand is how we carry such CROSSES. "...they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever."
It is that simple. We are asked to move forward in faith and endurance as we carry these CROSSES of variedness, if that is even a word. We don't always get to choose the job, the storm, the damage, or even the way others choose. What we do get to choose is how we carry them or move forward. We are asked to or not to do certain things. The results of what we choose depends upon us. Verse 20, He knows. He knows all things. He is aware and there to help when we reach up to Him. He may not remove the Cross, but as long as we are doing all that He asks of us, obeying His commandments, prayer, scripture study, and striving to live according to the conditions of repentance, the burden of the Crosses will be made lighter. We will be given the strength to carry it and carry on.
Hope that made sense.
This week has been pretty mundane.
The Queen and I worked. The Queen did a great deal of training and covering for those who were without power. When we weren't working, we were doing laundry, cooking, mowing lawns, cleaning gutters, shopping, and such. Just the mundane things of life.
The Professor is starting to get into an off track groove and settle into the routine of her grad classes. I am sure she will figure out how to tweak the routine once she tracks back on.
Tall Man and Ehl-Bo endured. I think they endured well. They made it through another week and will move on to the next. The weathered new classes, old classes, job changes, performances, institute and more.
Puddin and Lady Hawkins were busy. We only got bits and pieces of what they were up to. I know Lady Hawkins went back to work and Puddin started a new work. Now they get to figure out how to tweak the routines of above and classes.
Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to the temple and then share our table with Polo15. It was good to see him and hope he understands we are here if he needs a place to lean, hang, or be pushed. We will do it all.
That is about it. It has been a wonderful Sabbath. We move on.
I think my thoughts, though not always clear, are going to just be a continuation of last week's thoughts. Interestingly, they have been on my mind a great deal. As I continue to ponder from 2 Nephi 9. This week's thoughts were all from verses 17-20.
This is an interesting subject, Justice and Mercy. From an antagonistic view, it is hard for some to see God as being Just and Merciful at the same time. I have heard a great deal of that this week from my co-workers in Florida. They all weathered the same storm. Some had trees fall on their houses, some lost windows, some saw water in their homes, and almost all of them lost power. But then there were those who just had some debris scattered in their yards. They did not have any damage, they did not see any water in their houses, and they did not lose power.
How is that fair? This is the question many ask or use in debate to show that there is no God. Or that if there is, He does not care about all of his children. So how do we explain it? Not to play on words, but I will share my thoughts, though I am not sure how much justice I will be able to give to the debate. But this is what I understand from my own personal witness.
When this world was created, God placed Adam and Eve in a garden. This place provided for them. They did have to tend it, but can you imagine a place where there were no weeds, that you did not have to worry and toil over the seeds of the land. The earth provided. In this garden, Adam and Eve were given instructions, commandments if you will. Just like it says in verse 17. With those commandments, God also explained what would happen if they were not followed - death would be introduced into the world. And so it was. This is justice.
But never did He say how or what would die. He just said they would die. As I have been pondering these verses the past few weeks. I understand that death was introduced to all living things, not just man. The plants, the animals, stars, the earth, and all things in it. It was not immediate. It was just introduced. From that moment a choice was made, a series of results were put into place. We ALL, everything, was introduced to a fallen state of existence called mortality, some existences are longer than others, but in the end, ALL must die.
Mercy was given through a Savior, even Jesus Christ, verse 19. How? I know I cannot give it complete justice, but I do have faith in the plan of redemption, mercy, salvation, and/or repentance. He came to the world to be raised up, that we might one day be raised from our fallen state. We, through His Atoning sacrifice, can be freed from the bondage of death, which came as result of Adam and Eve's choice. This ability to be freed is two fold, one a gift, freedom from physical or temporal death, and the other is upon conditions of repentance/change/lifestyles, freedom from spiritual death.
So, where am I going or this just going to be a super long post? With this plan, God also set the condition, verse 18. "...the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world..."
This is where the answer to the question...How is that fair? comes in. The CROSSES of the world. Though there are times that we get to choose the CROSSES we will bear, it is not always the case. Some times mortality happens. It could be the mortality of the earth or weather patterns. It could be a result of other peoples choices or the result of a series of events that started long before we can even fathom. We just know they are placed upon our shoulders and we are asked to endure. Remember, when Christ was being led to Golgotha, His cross was placed on the shoulders of another. Not because Christ put it there, but because another chose to put it there. Some one who, just like the rest of us, was given the gift of agency.
It is because of that agency, that gift, that things happen. IF, we all chose to live righteously, according to the conditions of repentance, believing in the Holy One of Israel, life would be pretty good. Unfortunately, there are many who choose to live according to different rules. As a result, there will be times that we will be asked or forced to carry a heavy CROSS of the world. It has nothing to do about fair, it is just how it happens.
The question at hand is how we carry such CROSSES. "...they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever."
It is that simple. We are asked to move forward in faith and endurance as we carry these CROSSES of variedness, if that is even a word. We don't always get to choose the job, the storm, the damage, or even the way others choose. What we do get to choose is how we carry them or move forward. We are asked to or not to do certain things. The results of what we choose depends upon us. Verse 20, He knows. He knows all things. He is aware and there to help when we reach up to Him. He may not remove the Cross, but as long as we are doing all that He asks of us, obeying His commandments, prayer, scripture study, and striving to live according to the conditions of repentance, the burden of the Crosses will be made lighter. We will be given the strength to carry it and carry on.
Hope that made sense.
This week has been pretty mundane.
The Queen and I worked. The Queen did a great deal of training and covering for those who were without power. When we weren't working, we were doing laundry, cooking, mowing lawns, cleaning gutters, shopping, and such. Just the mundane things of life.
The Professor is starting to get into an off track groove and settle into the routine of her grad classes. I am sure she will figure out how to tweak the routine once she tracks back on.
Tall Man and Ehl-Bo endured. I think they endured well. They made it through another week and will move on to the next. The weathered new classes, old classes, job changes, performances, institute and more.
Puddin and Lady Hawkins were busy. We only got bits and pieces of what they were up to. I know Lady Hawkins went back to work and Puddin started a new work. Now they get to figure out how to tweak the routines of above and classes.
Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to the temple and then share our table with Polo15. It was good to see him and hope he understands we are here if he needs a place to lean, hang, or be pushed. We will do it all.
That is about it. It has been a wonderful Sabbath. We move on.
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