One common illusion we have about God
is that He will always come to our rescue.
Isn’t that what God is supposed to do?
So we can’t help but wonder
why there are so many times that
He does not take action
when things go wrong in the world.
It’s especially hard to accept
that He does not come to the rescue
of good guys like John.
If John had been a villain,
it would have been easier
to let God off the hook.
“He deserved his lot,”
we would have rationalized.
That’s exactly what we would say
if it was Herod’s head
that was served on the plate
instead of John’s.
But looking at history, current events,
and our own lives,
we have every reason
to repeat that ancient biblical bewilderment
over God and His sense of justice:
Why do the wicked prosper,
while the righteous suffer? (Psalm 73)
image from “Silence of the Sleep”