Gods Sabbath

T HE R ESURRECTION OF L AZARUS

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takes the lives of His best children for no better reason than ex pediency. This is not a new charge against God, for it has been leveled against Him ever since the great controversy began. One theory teaches that before sin appeared, God lacked an opportunity to display fully all the wonders of His wisdom, love, and power. In order to supply this deficiency, it is suggested that He deliberately introduced sin so He would be called upon to demonstrate these powers and qualities which would otherwise remain forever hidden. This theory implies that God’s real pur pose was to attract personal adoration, and to so impress His creatures with infinite superiority that His authority would be unquestioned. Therefore this teaching charges Him with being selfishly preoccupied with His own exaltation and security, no matter what might be the cost to others. It is true that the emergence of sin has brought revelations of God’s beautiful character which otherwise would never have been possible. God’s handling of the sin problem has opened doors to research and learning that will keep the redeemed and the unfallen beings occupied for eternity, for they will never come to the end of knowing God. But to conclude that God deliberately engineered this situa tion in order to advantage Himself at fearful cost to others, is to attribute to Him the basest of motives. It is the way of Satan and his fallen angels, as well as sinful humans, to satisfy their self ish ambitions by using such a strategy. At the cross, Satan ex hibited this spirit in its most advanced and evil form, by declar ing that he would have his way, even if it cost the life of the lov ing Saviour who had given him everything he had. That is the manifestation of Satan’s character, but not God’s. In Christ, the everlasting Father has shown to what lengths of personal self-sacrifice He will go in order to bring life and hap piness to others. How totally opposite these two principles are! It is written in the Bible that God is love to an infinite degree (see 1John 4:8–16; 1 Corinthians 13:8), which means that in Him there is not the slightest trace of selfishness. We cannot then, draw the conclusion that God deliberately engineered the appear ance of sin, or the death of Lazarus, while we simultaneously be lieve that the Scriptures are the infallible revelation of truth. In stead, we see evidence after evidence witnessing to the fact that