I Don't Get It !

"I don't understand!"
"That's not fair!"
"Why me?"
"What do you mean?!?"
"I don't get it!"

Oh, so often, the above is my response when something happens that seems unfair and I just don't understand. Or when I view injustices. Or when I observe disparities.

Let's be honest.
So much of life is unfair. There are many inequalities.
There is always someone who has more. Or someone who looks better. Or someone who is more talented. Or someone who is...well, you get the picture.
I don't get it.

And then there is the bad stuff.

There is the person who drinks, smokes, lives immorally, and has great health and lives a long time.
And then there is another person who exercises, and juices, and avoids sugar, and gets a disease and dies young.

It is so unfair.
I don't get it.

We have a friend, a man in his 40's, with six young children, and a devoted wife, who suddenly began loosing weight and experiencing pain. After a few months of run arounds and doctor appointments he was diagnosed with a horrific cancer, with no medical recourse. He was simply sent home.

It is so unfair.
I don't get it.


Maybe thinking about my friend made the following passage jump out at me recently when I heard it:

Jesus answered and said to him, "What I do you do not realize now, but you shall understand hereafter."      ~John 13:5

Jesus here is referring to His act of washing His disciples feet. Here was the Lord, the Rabbi, the leader of this band.  And He acted as a Servant.

And it didn't make any sense.
The disciples didn't get it.

Why should He kneel?
They were supposed to kneel to Him.

Why should He serve?
They were supposed to serve Him.

So, of course, it didn't make any sense.
The disciples did not understand.
They didn't realize what He was doing.
It was confusing.
They didn't get it.

And as I thought of that picture, several things in my life that did not make sense suddenly rushed into focus.

It is a fact that Jesus does things in my life, and I don't realize WHAT He is doing, or WHY He is doing it, or HOW He will ever get it all worked out.

I don't get it.
It doesn't make sense.

But He gets it. It makes sense to Him. He knows WHAT, WHY, and HOW He is doing EVERYTHING He is doing.

He wastes nothing.
He messes up nothing.
He redeems everything.

Everything that happens in my life, or doesn't happen in my life, is an act of My Lord,
-washing my feet
-cleansing away the grime of the world
-conforming my heart unto His own.

How can He love me so much?
How can He take such care of me?
How can He orchestrate every detail of my life?
How can He humble Himself to wash away my filth?

It doesn't make sense.
I just don't get it.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He  cares for you.               ~II Peter 5:6,7