Will Not the Judge of All the Earth Do Right?

Greetings from the Dominican Republic!

Our verse for the week comes from Genesis 18:25. Abraham is praying to God about Sodom, and asks Him, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25, NIV)

I love that verse, not just as a question, but as a statement. No matter how things go in this world, or in our lives, the Judge of all the earth will only do what is right. How encouraging is that?

I’m in the DR to help lead three conferences. This verse is one of the key verses we used last night (Sunday)at the Young Adult event.

Sunday was a full day. We had church in the morning, then loaded up chairs, then went home to make dinner and set up for the event. People started showing up around 3pm.

The best part was unplanned. As the young adults arrived, a dozen or more of us ended up sitting around under a massive tree, with a couple of guys interpreting. We needed three languages: English, Creole, and Spanish. (A few Korean workers joined us too, and their English was fluent.)

The questions started flying in both directions. They are hungry to know God’s truth, and they go deep, about relationships, about growth, about the Bible and God’s work in our lives, etc. I told them how I met JoLynn and talked about God’s manipulative grace (the kind of grace that quietly arranges our circumstances to draw us to Him). When I asked my usual questions (“What is love? What is grace? Who is God?”), their answers showed insight beyond where I was at their age.

Several of their questions came back to this: Is God really good? Why does He allow so much suffering and evil? Our verse for the week, and the invitation to trust the One who always does right, was central to that conversation. We went back and forth for probably the better part of an hour, until the rain and a call of “dinner’s ready” ended it.

The formal teaching after dinner went fine, but that time under the tree was my high point. At the end, one of our interpreters stood up and said, “Wow, that was great, I can’t wait for more!” God was good to start it all like that.

Now we have three days of rest, evaluation, and meetings with the pastors and churches hosting the next two conferences. The end of the week will be packed. Here’s how you can pray:

1. Marriage conference, Thurs/Fri: in Spanish, expecting 40-50
2. Pastors conference, Saturday: in Creole
3. Safe travel home

Thank you for your prayers. You are an encouragement to me!

Be encouraged,

dan