And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
John 9:2
We have all heard or said the statement: "What goes around comes around." This is the statement of Karma. The universal law of equality--that all things have an equal and opposite reaction, or The Great Balance. In this philosophy the devil is the exact opposite of God; and, if you do something bad then something bad will happen to you--or even to your children. This is not some small thought held by a few. This is a major worldview of millions.
This week we are continuing our study in the Gospel of John. The whole point of John's writing is to prove that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. (John 20:31). And it opens up with the Great Debate: The Karma debate. "Whose fault is it?" (John 9:2) They popular thought among the disciples was that either this man sinned or his parents sinned so that God was punishing this man with blindness.
This is not the first time this thought is found in the Bible. Way back in the book of Job we find the three friends of Job convinced that God was the Great Being of Karma. (Job 8; 10; 15) Job's three friends taught retribution theology which is the exact same thought as Karma. The very problem is that this is not the true picture of God. God is the Savior of mankind. He extends his hands in mercy and grace to those who are broken and in need. The most famous verse ever explains this perfectly. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) There is no Karma in that verse. There is only God's love revealed in Christ Jesus extended to broken people in need of a Savior.
As Christians our worldview is not one karma. We hold fast to the truth that God is a just judge and that those who do not believe and receive Christ will in turn fail to receive the mercy that God graciously extends to them throughout their lives. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and ton the unjust. (Matthew 5:45) God is love. And His love is extended to all--not on the basis of behavior or actions, but as the representation of who He is. Let us strive to show others the true character of God by being like Him and loving as He loves.
Blessings to you!
This is a tough one and we've been struggling with this one over the past year. That first instinct is always to hope God smites them with lightning because that's what they deserve ;) But thank goodness we all don't get the things we really deserve all the time or we'd be in bad shape. I guess it's just a matter of trying to apply the same grace that we've received to others.