August 28, 2021

For you this week:

• Reflection for Saturday: Why does God favor the ungodly?
• Inside the Ministry: Our newly redesigned video site is a treasure chest
• Footsteps to Heaven podcast: 3 Keys in Turbulent Times

Saturday August 28, 2021

1 Thessalonians 4:9-11
Psalm 98:1, 7-9
Matthew 25:14-30
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082821.cfm
Podcast:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/2021-08-28

Saints Calendar:
gnm.org/saints-find/saints-calendar

Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. (From Saturday’s Gospel reading)

Reflection for Saturday:
Why does God favor the ungodly?

I’ve been asked this question, and I totally sympathize with the frustration behind it. I used to wonder about it myself, particularly when my prayers weren’t being answered (or so it seemed).

The question: Have you noticed that people we consider to be ungodly are thriving in their undertakings? They hold high positions in societies, have more than enough money in their bank accounts, etc. Meanwhile, “God-fearing” Christians are constantly struggling.

The person asking me about it wanted to know: “(1) What is behind the success of ‘bad’ people? (2) Do you think God has any merit for loving such people? (3) What should the ‘God-fearing’ people do to earn the Creator’s grace such as that being lavished on ‘bad’ people?”

In my answer, first, I’d like to explain that God does not favor sinners. However, there are times when we who are followers of Christ feel let down by God. We expect to be favored more than sinners. We assume that if we are good, if we are obedient to God, if we follow Christ, if we pray for help, then of course God should reward us by granting us the answers to our prayers and giving us prosperity and other good things. But we cannot manipulate God. No one can earn God’s favor nor his help. It’s a sin to try, because it’s based on the wrong assumption that we can manipulate God by our good deeds.

When we see non-believers having more success than we do in the same things we were hoping God would help us with, how do we feel? When we assume that God is treating us less favorably than others, that’s a very limited view of what’s really happening. I learned this lesson many years ago, and I tell the story about that in the WordBytes article God, why have You abandoned me? @ wordbytes.org/suffering/god-why-have-you-abandoned-me.

Now I will address the three questions specifically.

1. We all have talents that, when put to use, help us become successful. Those non-believers who are very prosperous have been using the talents that God gave them. God wants us to use the talents he gave us, regardless of whether or not we recognize him as the Father of our talents. When someone fails to glorify him, he doesn’t make the sinner talent-less. Some of the things they do with their talents will inadvertently glorify him!

2. If by the word “merit” you mean “reason” or “purpose”, then yes, God has a purpose: His reason for loving sinners is to be true to himself. He loves because he is love. Beyond that, he loves because love can heal, love can promote change, love can convert hearts.

3. God’s grace cannot be earned. Grace is — by its very nature — a freely given gift by God that helps us grow closer to him. It is withheld from no one, but in fact, followers of Christ are more aware of the grace that he makes available and therefore live in the Creator’s grace more than non-believers do.

For a more in-depth answer, see the WordBytes article Why Does God Favor the Ungodly? @ wordbytes.org/faqs/why-does-god-favor-ungodly.

Inside the Ministry:
Our newly redesigned video site is a treasure chest

For the last few weeks, we’ve been rebuilding our video site, GNM-Media.org. Have you seen it yet? The sleek new design is more enjoyable. It’s now much, much easier to peruse the library of videos we’ve been producing since January of 2010.

That very first video was filmed in my living room with no special training. Entitled “Four Types of Friends“, I gave a nine-minute reflection on the story in Mark 2 in which the paralytic was lowered through the roof to Jesus by four friends. It illustrates the need we all have for friends. Taking note of the number of friends who helped the paralytic, I described the four personality types that bring out the best in us. See it @ gnm-media.org/four-types-of-friends.

Be sure to look over the table of contents of everything the library now contains! Visit GNM-Media.org.

3 Keys in Turbulent Times (podcast)

God helps us grow in faith during hardships, heartaches, and every other sort of problem. He generously gives us the gift of grace to make everything work for our good. But while we’re in the midst of turbulent times, we usually can’t see it or feel it. In this episode, I explained 3 keys (or graces) that will open your eyes and your heart so you can grow closer to Christ and feel him comforting you.

Listen to this podcast @ gnm.org/footsteps79.

Or watch the video @ gnm-media.org/3-keys-in-turbulent-times-to-grow-closer-to-christ. Or if you prefer to read it, download the transcript at this link.

God bless you!

Every morning, I lift up in prayer everyone who helps Good News Ministries in any way (donors, volunteers, prayer supporters, etc.) and all the prayer requests posted on our site.

Thank you for reading this newsletter.

Your servant in Christ,
Terry Modica, Executive Director
Good News Ministries
gnm.org

Let’s connect in GNM’s community: See you there!

Keep your eyes on Jesus!
And when you have to look at others, see them through his eyes.