Do you
remember the first time your parents trusted you to be left home alone? I can’t
say that I remember the exact incident but I do remember thinking to myself,
“Wow, this is weird. I’ve never been left alone before.” Like most parents,
they gave me the typical warnings, “Don’t do anything you know we wouldn’t
permit, OR ELSE!” Every child knows exactly what the “or else” means, it means
punishment of some sort or another. What is at stake here is our parent’s
ability to trust us. Leaving us alone for the first time was a test of that
trust. It is also a test of how much we love our parents.
Do parents
have the right to impose such tests on their children? Being left alone is all
part of the social growing process—learning responsibility and accountability.
Really, if the child never learns those he (or she) becomes a burden to
society. So yes, a parent needs to train their child to act responsibly. What
then about God training mankind? His tests on us are pretty much the same—tests
of trust, loyalty and love.
The very
first test recorded in the Bible was one of trust. Jehovah told the first human
pair not to eat from just one tree. If we parents need to train our children
how to act responsibly, it certainly is not wrong for God to train mankind using
the same simple and straightforward lesson. Another such lesson of loyalty and
obedience is recorded at Exodus 16:4. The “test” was whether or not the
masses would trust in God enough to not hoard the manna and to not go looking
for it on the seventh day. Both in this case and in the case of Adam and Eve,
God generously provided and all he wanted in return was trust and obedience. In researching the word “test” as
used in the Bible and in reference to what God does toward mankind, this was
the only type of test God imposed on us—he blesses us richly and then asks back
proof that we love and willingly, uncompromisingly trust and obey him. (See the
additional references below.)
There is
another type of test we face, but it is not something God brings on us. It is a
test of our character that Satan and this godless world we live in put on us.
Returning to the parent/child illustration, consider the situation when the
child gets old enough to start socializing outside the family circle with
minimal (maybe no) adult supervision. The parents’ hope is that the training
they gave their child is enough to help him or her make wise decisions. So say
the child goes to a party with his peers and finds liquor and other
recreational drugs being used. Now, the parent didn’t put that test on their
child—the situation and peer pressure did. This type of test is one that a parent
would rather spare their child from, but they know that eventually they will
need to trust that the child has to start being self-accountable. This is in
essence the test that Job underwent—would he keep loyal to God or would he get
angry and blame God. In fact, at one point his wife told him to blame (curse) God and die. Likewise, even Jesus went through such testing. Why does God allow this? There is a
benefit both to our resilient character and to God to have a tested quality that proves the type of person we are. Yes,
just as a parent praises a child that faced up to the challenge in an adult
way, just so God commends and rewards us for standing firm for what is right.
Finally,
there can be tests that no one in particular initiated. The Bible calls those “time and unforeseen circumstances.” They fall on people
indiscriminately. These could be adverse weather, or earthquakes and other
natural disasters that destroy homes and lives. The “test” in this case is how
we react. Will we find fault with God--for him allowing this to happen?
Maybe even blaming him for causing this to happen? Or will we see
it as a challenge to remain in God’s love, realizing it is not him doing this?
In fact, in some cases (as in the Job’s case) it is possible that it is Satan causing these “natural” disasters.
So,
according to God’s Word, the Bible, the tests God puts on people are designed
to show us how we can reciprocate his love and are very gentle and kind. The
tests that those opposed to God put on us are designed to destroy our
confidence and loyalty in God and are harsh and cruel. Finally, “time and
unforeseen circumstances” should never be blamed on God. Our loyalty and
unbreakable love under all such situations is what God is looking for in us.
Additional
References:
Judges 3:1-6. Here, Jehovah God allows certain foreign
nations that do not serve him to continue occupying some of the promise land.
It was a test on the Israelites to see if with such an influence they would
still remain loyal to instructions handed down through Moses and the other
representatives of God (Joshua, the loyal kings, the prophets).
Psalms 26:1,2. This is a very interesting passage.
Here, the writer actually asks God to test him because he wants to demonstrate
how much he really loves God. In a much lesser sense, don’t we do the same with
people we are trying to impress? Candidates vying for a job may ask, “Just try
me out. See if I don’t prove myself worthwhile.”
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