The Absolute Freedom and Justice of God

“You are good and do good…” [ Psalm 119:68 ]

I have to admit that Jim Elliot is a modern hero of mine. If you’re not familiar with his life—and particularly his death—I’d highly recommend reading either Through Gates of Splendor (by his wife, Elisabeth Elliot), or The Journals of Jim Elliot (edited by his wife)¹. He’s the one who wrote that famous and blindingly true statement, He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. For those of you who don’t know, he was a young and radical missionary to Ecuador in the mid 1950s. He and five friends determined, at great personal risk, to attempt to bring the gospel to the tribes of savage Aucan Indians who lived in the jungle near his home. They were all killed—speared to death—in the attempt. Jim Elliot was 28 years old.

Elisabeth (also a sort of modern hero of mine) had just given birth to their only child, Veronica. The story of the 5 young martyrs spread over the world like wildfire. Some were angered at the Indians, some blamed the missionaries for lack of wisdom, some questioned God’s justice for allowing his children to die so heinously. Others waited for the reports of mass salvations in the Aucan tribes, to defend God’s taking of the 5 young lives.

Elisabeth had a much different reaction, written 27 years after Jim’s death, which is recorded in the Epilogue II of Through Gates of Splendor:

We all know…that time and again in the history of the Christian Church, the blood of martyrs has been its seed. So we are tempted to assume a simple equation here. Five men died. This will mean x-number of Auca Christians.

Perhaps so. Perhaps not. Cause and effect are in God’s hands. Is it not part of faith simply to let them rest there? God is God. I dethrone him in my heart if I demand that He act in ways that satisfy my idea of justice. It is the same spirit that taunted ‘If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the Cross.” There is unbelief, there is even rebellion, in the attitude which says, “God has no right to do this to five men unless…”

The massacre was a hard fact, widely reported at the time, and surprisingly well remembered by many even today. It was interpreted according to the measure of one’s faith or faithlessness—full of meaning or empty. A triumph or tragedy. […] The beginning of a great work, a demonstration of the power of God, a sorrowful first act which would lead to a beautifully predictable third act in which all puzzles would be solved, God would vindicate Himself, Aucas would be converted, and we could all “feel good” about our faith. […] But the danger lies in seizing upon the immediate and hoped-for, as though God’s justice is thereby verified, and glossing over as neatly as possible certain other consequences…

We are not always sure where the horizon is. […] The One who laid earth’s foundations and settled its dimensions knows where the lines are drawn. He gives all the light we need for trust and for obedience.²

Mrs. Elliot’s point is that God does not need to explain his actions to us—not ever. Even if none of the Aucans were saved as a result, God would be no less righteous for the taking of these 5 young lives. He is always Good, always right, always working everything for the good of those who are called, for those that love him, and always for his glory. Even—especially—when it appears completely otherwise to our limited, vaporous, fallible minds. Trusting his goodness and his power is the very core of faith in him; doubt either, and we are lost.

Psalm 115:3 says, “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” He is absolutely free. And he is always, and only, absolutely good and just in everything he pleases, and does. He does not answer to us. He “is good, and he does good.” [ Psalm 119:68 ] Always…and only. It simply cannot be otherwise. And so, with Job, in the face of calamity, let us worship him for his goodness and for his mysterious purposes in the world. And, at the warning of Christ upon hearing of great calamity in Siloam, let us also “repent, lest we perish likewise.” [ Luke 13:1-5 ]

We serve a big and good God, though his ways are sometimes inscrutable. How is your faith?

¹ I haven’t yet read Shadow of the Almighty, his official biography (also by his wife), so I can’t recommend it in good conscience. But I’m sure it, too, would be life-changing!

² Elisabeth Elliot, Through Gates of Splendor. (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 1956 [repr. 1981]), pp. 269-273. Jim’s passion and devotion to “live life to the hilt” for the glory of God moved me to tears of longing a half-dozen times just in the first two chapters of this book. I may have just been tired…but I doubt it. It’s about $5 used.

Recommendations

[ministry] The Missionary Aviation Fellowship (“MAF”) has been asked to oversee the organization and distribution of all airborne aid in Indonesia, which was greatly affected by the recent tsunami. Since most roads and bridges were taken out by the tsunami, going airborne avoids the bottleneck and gets the supplies to the people that need them the most. MAF is providing technological, organizational, and airborne support to get the supplies to the people in need. Read more, and consider donating, here.

[devotional] A recent ONELIFE message on how to respond to calamity, titled How Firm a Foundation. Lest we become deists or idolaters, let us glorify God for his awesome power displayed in the ‘strong winds and mighty waves.’ Lest we become hard-hearted, let us weep with those who weep, rejoice with those who rejoice, and pray that the Lord of the harvest would send workers in the field.

[devotional] Charles Spurgeon’s daily devotional, Morning and Evening. Strong meat and solid encouragement, yet brief. A good mix of doctrinal truth and practical application. Subscribe to the daily email version here.