Showing posts with label Rabbi Harold Kushner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rabbi Harold Kushner. Show all posts

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

No Furnace Is Too Hot

"No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able..." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV

There's a wonderful question about which most of us wonder from time to time. It became the title of Rabbi Harold Kushner best-selling book, Why Bad Things Happen to Good People. Although his book painted a much smaller God than we know, it still was helpful to many people.

But, taking into account the scripture verse for today (this would be a good time to read it, if you haven't!), there is also a great Bible story in the book of Daniel, Chapter 3, of three Hebrew boys who refused to worship the idols of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. Even though they were threatened with being thrown in a furnace, they held fast in their devotion to God. Their response: "God can spare us from the fiery furnace; He has that power. But, even if He does not, we'll never serve your gods or bow down to your statue." Were they afraid? Yes. Was it a little warm in the furnace? You bet. But, they chose to trust God even when it made no earthly sense to do so. And, much to the amazement of their captors, God repaid their faith and they were not harmed by the fires in that furnace.