Is John an evil man?
or, what does God really look like?
An evil man? John, a carpenter, had a good week and was feeling good so he allowed his twin girls, Kana and April to have a slumber party. They invited every girl in the third grade in their small home town. About twenty girls giggled and played games until about 2 a.m. At that point, John sent his wife, Josie, down the hall to shut down the party. She kindly, but firmly, told all the girls to go to bed, and that they could continue the party when they awoke the next morning. They all nodded agreement.
About two hours later John and his wife awoke to a noise in the garage; but, to their surprise, it was only the girls who had sneaked out there to play with John’s power tools. (Why little girls would want to play with these is puzzling?) John wanted to scold them, but he decided to teach them a lesson instead. So, he took some clothes line cord and began to tie them to the power tools, a few at each piece of equipment: the table saw, the lathe, the planer, the router… He told them, “You want to play with these tools? This will let you get to know them better!” Thinking of their safety, he went to the breaker box and flipped all the breakers for the garage, including the lights. As he left, he said, “Maybe I will come back in a little while and let you all loose, if you be good…”
The poor little girls sat in the dark, imagining the worst. Then one of them pulled out a lighter she had taken from her older brother; and, she lit it to see in the darkness. But, she was sitting next to the lawn tools and the gas can. Yes, the can’s fumes ignited, and all the girls began to scream.
John and his wife ignored the yelling for a few minutes, thinking they were just scared, but then realized that something was wrong. He ran to the door yelling, “it is your own fault; I told you to go to bed; I told you to be still and just think about why you were being punished; you all deserve to burn.”
Then, John thought he should show his neighbors what a kind man he really was; so, he began to go through the room, ignoring the flames, and cut loose every third child. The rest, he just left them to their deserved plight, despite their agonized cries. He thought, “It was his house. He had plainly told them all what was expected; and, they had all agreed to the guidelines. None of them really deserved to be cut loose.”
For some unknown reason, the local law, and his neighbors just did not see it his way. And, somehow, I really doubt the kids he did not choose to cut loose saw it his way either! Some of the neighbors saw the flames, but got there too late.
Thankfully, Josie had gone behind her despotic, deranged husband, getting severely burned and suffering smoke inhalation, and rescued all the little girls who were calling out to her.
What is that verse about “if you earthly fathers, being evil know how to give good gifts … how much more your heavenly Father…”? Does that mean that God is certainly better than John Kalvino, or John’s neighbors who would not do what he did? Or does it mean Josie, the mother, is more like God? I am just a simple man, but I think John is wrong.
Psalm 131
1 My heart is not proud, O LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both now and forevermore.
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