So today, a piece of celery (filled with peanut butter of course!) was thrown to someone across the kitchen bench.
It landed face down and someone joked:
“Murphy’s Law!”
It got laughs all round, then a barrage of people trying to prove it: crackers were tossed into the air, avocado… well you get the idea!
Murphy’s Law is often boiled down to:
“If something can go wrong, it will!”
For thinking minds, you know this is crazy! Imagine is everything that could go wrong did!
Heart attacks, stroke, seizure, fire, pulled muscles… In everyday situations, millions of things would happen, brakes would fail, planes would crash, houses collapse, fire would destroy. The list is endless in nearly any situation. Life would be demoralising and pointless. In fact, life would cease to exist altogether!
The fact that we go on living and millions of things don’t go wrong in every situation is miraculous.
The Bible describes that although life has hardship, life can be filled with purpose, meaning, significance and love. It tells us what we can see form the fact that Murphy was so wrong: the Creator is a GOOD God! The universe is filled with examples of His love, beauty and grace…despite people ignoring God and blaming Him for all bad.
Matthew 5:44-45 (NLT) But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
God the Father gives good things to all people: rain and sunlight. Not just random chance or mindless weather systems, but a loving, involved God who cares.
Colossians 1:15-17 (NLT) Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. [emphasis added]
Here, the very laws of the universe (the physical ones) are described as being controlled and held in place by Jesus. The atom, quasars, quarks, gravity, motion… We are still discovering the laws of the universe and (at least in the Western world), take them for granted. But there is a day coming where all the physical laws of the universe will come to an end… are you ready?
Jesus said:
“Watch out! I have warned you about this ahead of time!
“At that time, after the anguish of those days,
the sun will be darkened,
the moon will give no light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. And he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.” Mark 13:23-27 (NLT)
This is describing the very laws of ‘nature’ ceasing to operate. The spiritual laws will still be in place – they do not change. 1The spiritual laws of the universe go like this:
On that day, only Jesus matters! If you have put your faith in Him, it will be a GREAT day… but if not, it will be TERRIBLE!
Judgment Day will seperate the sheep from the goats, those who have accepted Jesus and those who have rejected Him. Those who have lived for Him and those who have lived for themselves. Those who have given up their life for Him and carried their cross and…well, those who haven’t! 2 Matthew 10:37-39 (NLT) If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it. 3 Luke 14:26-27 (NLT) If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
Every time you hear someone say “Murphy’s Law” – or when something goes wrong and you think “how ironic”… take a good look around at everything that didn’t go wrong. Then look up & be thankful to the One who gave you life!
Lord, help us to see clearly the good that you give, despite us not deserving it. Give us an insight into all the good that you have blessed us with throughout our lives. And help us to give ourselves over to worshipping You for who you are and what you continually do for us.
Footnotes:
- 1The spiritual laws of the universe go like this:
- If you sin (even once), you remain spiritually dead under God’s wrath
- Only perfection can save you – and no human (past present or future) is perfect
- If someone hangs on a tree, they become the very sin that they have revelled in.
- Because Jesus was sin-free (born from the seed of God in a virgin, lived sin free) His death on the cross ‘sucked’ sin from the world (throughout all time). This enables anyone who puts their trust in Him to be forgiven. Completely.
- Following through with that great act and coming back to life gave Him power over all dark forces in the universe.
- Jesus rules from Heaven and will come back one day to judge all people – taking His bride back to Heaven with Him.
- 2Matthew 10:37-39 (NLT) If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.
- 3Luke 14:26-27 (NLT) If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.