It’s all about God and His Covenant.
God calls His Elect into the Covenant. Sadly, a great many of them don’t even understand this, so they miss out on some of what the Covenant offers. Election makes you God’s family; the Covenant gives you a purpose for living in this world. You are in a position to see clearly the bigger picture of what the Covenant means. You live in communion with the Creator and Creation.
Sinners have a random life. God’s purpose is not involved, despite what they may believe about such things. The only purpose they have is whatever lies Satan and his allies tell them.
Most Americans have no clue what’s going on with the Covenant and divine promises. They tend to see life from a western point of view. Everything is about themselves as individuals. They have a false view of God and Creation and don’t really understand the Scripture. They read their needs and wants back into the Bible, their solipsistic orientation. They think God’s wrath is just like the American justice system, based on punitive retribution. God was never like that.
His wrath on sinners is first and foremost no Holy Spirit. They have no clue on anything that matters. They cannot make sense of their lives because they don’t have divine revelation to clear up things. They may feel like they prosper or may not; it’s random and subjective. If you view their lives in light of American justice, maybe it looks like they get away with murder. If they do, it means God isn’t the least bit concerned about them in terms of how He cares for His family. He disciplines His own children, not strangers. They belong to the Devil.
Eventually, they’ll end up in Hell — Satan’s Abyss, Sheol, the grave. They’ll suffer there until Christ returns, and then they’ll be judged and cease to exist. Whether or not they appear to suffer in this life for their sins is not the point. They don’t know God. Divine justice is eternal, not temporal. There can be nothing worse than being a stranger to God; that’s punishment enough.
This common focus on “getting what’s coming to you” in this life is not from the Bible. It’s a lie from Satan built into American culture. Humans cannot do justice without the Presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Under the divine Presence, people don’t worry about retribution in this life. This world is a delusion in the first place. You suffer because you are in this world; it’s a big lie and so is the suffering. If you have peace with God, nothing else matters.
Let the sinners take all they want of this world, because it’s all they will ever get.
Meanwhile, you have the Covenant. A critical part of the Covenant is understanding that it’s not about you. It’s about God and His glory. That’s part of the Old Testament Hebrew mindset that we try to teach. Furthermore, it’s very much about His glory when viewed over multiple generations. Understanding that is part of the Covenant; it’s fundamental to peace with God. It’s bigger than you and your life. His revelation calls you to build from the ashes of previous generations’ mistakes and testify to what God does across centuries.
But if your head isn’t there, you can’t do it. If all your mental calculus is short-term, then you cannot obey Him. Your brief passage through time is not important unless you can seize the eternal viewpoint and work for future generations to see your legacy of faith. Don’t look for an impact on this world during your own lifetime; the bulk of what God wants from you will have its greatest effects after you are gone.
That’s not the whole thing, but it should be your focus. On the way to that legacy, you will surely see some difference in the near term, but that’s not the main goal. Keep your eye on the eternal consequences of your obedience here and now.
