What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!
For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it does not depend on the man that wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth." So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?" On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? (Romans 9:14-21)
Ugh. God decided before they had done anything good or bad that Esau would serve his younger brother. Men are stricken blind without regard to their own sin or their fathers. Job was the most blameless man of his age; for this, he suffered beyond my imagination.
As much as my theology can attest that I am nothing but a product of grace, I live as if I know something about justice. No, I don't rest upon my deeds for my salvation, but the proudest part of me feels like God owes me for my service.
I get frustrated. My temper flares when I see kids ignored by their parents, or when I hear men speak ill of their wives. The majority of the world clutters itself with various forms of sexual perversion. Therefore, logically speaking, it only makes sense that I would find my loneliness to be unjust in light of my purity and intent for Godly marriage.
And yet, this is not God's greatest concern. Is he grieved when I am grieved? Very likely. Christ was often moved by the pain of those He loved. But of greater interest to God is His glory being known. As much as I would love to think that I know the mind of God, we are all too limited in our understanding to know how He may be glorified.
Mary and Martha had to watch their brother die; the man in John 9 had to suffer through an entire life of disability and scorn. Job lost everything. Through all of our perceived injustice, we are given only one comfort: He and He alone is God.
Evil men will continue to have their way on earth, and men of righteousness will not always receive what we find just. We cannot determine what hardships God will use for the sake of His glory. We can only know Him intimately enough to trust that He knows everything that we do not, that His ways are good, and that He loves us beyond our comprehension.
This will take some time.
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