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Archive for the ‘Reflections’ Category

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Does Job Say Suffering Is Unexplainable?

Some may misunderstand or stop seeking God if He is declared to be unintelligible. Job 2:10 hints of things to come in the story: “shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” Not even God can create and guarantee life without death, violence, suffering, and struggle and yet there be free will necessary for genuine relationships and intimacy to exist. God surely can’t be blamed for suffering when Satan or humans inflict harm on others, but who doesn’t wish God would wave a magic wand over all this mess. What could possibly be God’s reason for not doing so? Freedom has caused a complicated world both for us and God.

God rejected Job’s friends’ assumption that suffering is evidence of sin and God’s displeasure. Is cancer because of sin in one’s life? Please! God also rejected Job’s assumption that the wicked are judged or the righteous rewarded immediately: “…Why should I not be impatient…Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days” (21:4, 24:1)? God didn’t question Job’s righteousness. One understands Job’s distraught with so much suffering, but Job had to wonder if God had lost control by allowing him to suffer so much undeservingly. Job heard God voice and was satisfied he wasn’t forgotten (42:1-6).

God defended Himself to Job: “Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself” (40:8)? God’s justice doesn’t means the righteous never suffer here on earth, though one day the righteous will be rewarded and the unjust will be judged. God doesn’t loss control by not being a Controller. God may know a thing or two about how to run a free world that has chosen to rebel again their Creator. God doesn’t give Job a tongue lashing for trying to understand Him, but suffering in the world doesn’t make God unjust or uncaring.

Avoid following in Job’s friends footsteps by telling someone since they aren’t perfect in God’s eyes, they deserve to suffer. Where is that in the Bible? Don’t say: “God has hand-picked you to give Him glory.” God is not the originator of our suffering and responsible for the evil choices of others. Much of suffering, whether self-inflicted or inflicted by others, comes through personal evil choices. Evil originates out of the hearts of men and women. God also doesn’t cause natural disasters, diseases, or accidents that lead to so much suffering. But, how satisfied are we if God intervenes with one natural disaster than all disasters? It is a complicated world.

Can God be just and caring despite allowing suffering? God obviously doesn’t react to suffering, inevitable in a free world, in the same way that we humans would. I try to spare my children of suffering no matter what. One alternative to God never allowing any suffering is for God to annihilate people at the first sign of evil. Don’t we give our wayward children chances to change no matter the harmed caused to themselves or others? God also does not simply impose His will on us. Demanding respect from our partner doesn’t bring about desired reconciliation. God obviously is merciful and patient in trying to change lives, even at His expense. Miracles turn heads but Jesus’ suffering turned the hearts of billions of followers.

What possible good can come from our undeserved suffering? God hurts as much as human parents when their children suffer. A parent isn’t sadistic just because they don’t squash freedom to avoid suffering. Suffering can enable us to not fall in love with temporal existence and love what the world offers. Also, suffering enables us to reach others in ways our prosperous times don’t. It is best God not answer most of my prayers.  If God stopped all suffering, whether from personal or natural evil, the world wouldn’t necessarily be better off. God will work to bring good from what was intended for evil. It is true the wicked or the righteous will not always get what they deserve in this life, but suffering was only avoidable if God had not created. Our demands for an all-powerful, invulnerable God comes at the expense of trusting God know best how to run the universe and change as many lives as possible through their own volition.

Written

on 04/27/2013

Is God A Mystery According To The Bible?

Many accept the explanation that God’s ways are mysterious when teachings are incompatible with peoples’ idea of a loving God. Others may desire answers to understand God better. I am positively obsessed with the idea that some people may be more open or intimate with God if they could better understand certain aspects of God that initially cause confusion. The Bible at least doesn’t seem to claim that God’s character or His ways are a mystery and incomprehensible to the human mind.

The Old Testament doesn’t make specific mention of “mysterious” as it relates to God. Deuteronomy 29:29 says: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us…”  The secrets things were unrevealed things, not mysteries. How was God going to bless all nations through Israel despite their rebelliousness? We now know that God raised a Savior from Israel to bless all. Isaiah 55:8-9 says about God: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways…” God isn’t suggesting we cannot understand Him. God exhorts us to forsake our wicked ways and thoughts and turn to God’s higher, righteous ways and thoughts so God can have mercy on us and forgive us (v.7).

The word mystery or mysteries is referenced about 27 times in the New Testament. There are two themes involved. Jesus’ teachings were not purposely hidden but rejected and not pursued.  Jesus did not prefer to speak in parables, but sometimes it is better to not speak the truth in a straightforward manner. When King David didn’t listen to God, God sent Nathan to confront in a form of a parable. Mark 4: 11-12 doesn’t suggest Jesus keep secrets: “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, they may be every seeing but never perceiving…” Jesus isn’t playing favorites who can hear or not hear: “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear” (verse 9). God’s direct message is only perplexing often to one’s heart not the mind. Truths of the faith are obtainable (I Tim 3:9). 

The mystery of Christ is a second theme in the NT. God’s plan to bless all through Israel by way of Christ wasn’t fully revealed until NT times. Paul says: “My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that  they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2: 3-4). The mystery isn’t how God elects only some individuals before Creation to believe in Him and exclude others. Ephesians 1:4 says God “chose us in Him before the creation of the world to holy and blameless in His sight.” God’s predestination act is choosing Christ as the Savior for all who desire God’s gift (v.5). Ephesians 1:11 repeats again we are chosen through Christ. How is one chosen through Christ?  “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (v. 13). God’s promise to Israel and all is now fully revealed.

The ultimate mystery for some is how God and suffering can co-exist. Much of suffering is either self-inflicted or inflicted by others such as wars, crimes, and injustices resulting from evil choices make by cruel and lawless people. Job doesn’t teach God is a mystery and cannot be understood by mere mortals. Did Job begin to assume God didn’t care by allowing his suffering?  God didn’t answer Jesus’ request either to intervene with His undeserved suffering. God will go to great lengths to win others over while preserving freedom. God desires to turn as many people from evil as possible. Jesus’ suffering and our suffering may be the only way to lead us and others to our Creator’s unconditional and unbelievable love. It is not necessarily true that if God instantly stopped all suffering, whether from personal or natural evil, I or the world would be better off in the long-run. (For further elaboration see article at my blog under Tab – Is God A Mystery?)

Category:

Reflections

Is God A Universalist And Saves All?

Will God eventually save all people, either in this life or after death, to live in Heaven? Christians are encouraged to test beliefs according to Scripture to best represent God to others (I Thes 5:21).  Beliefs influence our feelings about God and what we tell others about God. If we believe God keeps some alive consciously to torture them in a lake of fire forever, we may misrepresent God or hesitate to talk about God. Suggesting that a loving God is a sadistic torturer may influence others to close their heart to God.

There are no final answers about Universalism as other doctrines. Besides, Jesus cared more about the heart than doctrine. Believers have the hope of eternal life, but Jesus focused on the benefits of a current relationship to handle earthly struggles than what happens to unbelievers after death. But, understanding what we think are biblical possibilities can influence our attitudes and what we share with others about God.

Why wouldn’t one want to believe God is a Universalist where all are saved from themselves, if freedom and justice can be defended in such a scenario? It would be just like God to show mercy and give all a second chance when meeting their Creator. The case and hope for Universalism biblically may be greater than supposed by evangelical believers. We must not be dogmatic to negatively influence one’s openness to a relationship with their Creator.

Universalism is possible because the popular understanding of Hell, where unbelievers are keep alive by God to torture them in a lake of fire forever, is not found anywhere in the Bible. Scriptures doesn’t say specifically what happens to unbelievers after death other than being judged as are believers before entering Heaven. Hell appears to be an invention over the centuries to force people into submission. God doesn’t select or preordain some to eternal life and others to eternal damnation without a choice. We would accuse earthly parents of immorality if they showed similar favoritism toward their children. God doesn’t have a quota on His grace.

Universalism is possible without justice failing in the long-run for the sake of victims. God punishment has always been in hopes of redeeming the guilty. Judgment in the afterlife may have the same purpose. God’s justice may have an educative component and cleansing effect after our life here on earth. Victims will have their revenge one day, though our idea of revenge may not be the same as God’s. Why couldn’t God show mercy after death as God does here on earth time and time again?  Might we forgive our tormenters if they truly sought forgiveness and desired to make amends? Believers and unbelievers may go through the same process of justice, some having more regrets than others.

The Bible does not rule out decisions being made after death regarding one’s eternal destination. John 5:25 says that the dead will hear the voice of God and those who hear will live. I Peter 3:18-20 speaks of Christ preaching to those in Noah’s day who were disobedient. Preaching is normally for the opportunity to respond.  The possibility of eternal decisions after death doesn’t negate the blessings of changing here on earth. We may want to tell an addict after the 10th relapse then is no hope, but this is not God’s nature. Changes and forgiveness may be even possible after death. God knows best when enough chances have been given.

Knowing God might be a Universalist allows me to think about accountability and justice more on God’s terms. A loving God could allow a second death; a loving God could eventually save everyone if freedom will allow it. I am convinced God will be respectful of freedom after death as God is here on earth, but I still believe God’s mercy and grace is going to be much wider than some have every imagined after death. Heaven may be more populated than many people imagined. I am a hopeful Universalist.

Personally, the possibility of God eventually saving all frees me to focus on Jesus’ main message of kingdom life here on earth and not the afterlife. Jesus hated the religious of His day dragging others down into the gutter of God’s conditional love. Jesus came to declare God’s unconditional love which is more likely to lead to changes desired. The more I know God loves me, the more I love God and act less selfish. I have a greater appreciation of what God is really like. If interested please see a more a more detailed discussion of this topic on my Blog under the Tab: Universalism. Certain passages cannot be ignored:  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (I Cor 15:22).

 

Category:

Reflections

Why Is Sharing God With Others So Hard?

We God lovers know it is easier to tell a friend about a great movie rather than discuss God. You can hear crickets when inviting someone to a church you love to attend. I know some don’t want to talk about spiritual issues any more than they want to talk about relationship issues. Such conversations may require making necessary changes. But, our theology too may make it harder to talk about God with others. We may find certain things about God embarrassing? What we think God is really like can matter.

The good news is that we do not have to try to force God on others. We can stop feeling guilty. The truth is God is patient and waits for an invitation.  Jesus at the well didn’t give the woman a canned evangelistic speech and berate her about her sin. He simply said “Then, neither do I condemn you….Go now and leave your life of sin” (Jn 8:11).  God only pulled out the whooping stick with evil people that were causing devastation in others’ lives. Jesus was toughest on the religious folks of His day – those who were pushing their brand of God on others. God is ready to talk when we are ready. Sometimes, I will interject God’s name briefly in a conversation because I think about God 24/7, but I don’t go any further than one wants.  I feel no pressure to save people, only to love people. Many respond to that. Even better news is that we aren’t in the business of selling fire insurance. God is not a hellish, sadistic torturer.

No one wants to share about a God who purposely keeps people alive to burn forever. I have discovered the Bible or Jesus never talks about a place to punish people in a place of eternal consciousness for sins committed in a few short years. Hell appears to be an invention over the centuries to force people into submission. God is not a sadistic torturer. We humans wouldn’t even treat our enemies that way.  Christians do not have to fear they must defend this view about God when talking to others.  The Bible doesn’t say for sure what happens after people die.  I know, I know, you don’t believe me. Consider my Post January 13, 2013 – Hell? No!

No one wants to share about a God who plays favorites. God doesn’t think women should be submissive to men in a way men should not reciprocate. Women over the centuries have been subject to abuse at the hands of men who think they are the  “head” of women. The last thing men need over women is any type of authority. I don’t have to tell my daughters they can’t be leaders or preachers in the world or church. Gifts are according to one’s personality not their gender. It is too risky to not empower half the church in their giftedness, if we can’t be absolutely positive the Bible teaches it.  One person wrote to the editor of a newspaper “…it’s been bothering me since 9/11. What’s the difference between the strain of Islam that proscribes gender roles and its counterpart in Christianity that does the same thing, albeit with a different set of prohibitions?”

No one wants to share a God who seems to do nothing about all the suffering in the world. How can we explain both the presence of evil and the goodness of God in this world? God must allow suffering as a result of evil in the world because God created freedom. Even human parents know that forced love is not genuine love. If God constantly interfered with evil and the suffering that results, this would make a mockery out of freedom. Besides, we would accuse God of not interfering all the time. Maybe God is patient with evil at the expense of God’s pain and our pain. God wants people to change of their own volition. Jesus’ suffering and our suffering can inspire personal change and inspire others to change. Miracles never seem to last. God does not cause our suffering; God grieves when we suffer; God did not avoid suffering through His Son; God will walk hand-in-hand with us through any tragedy; and God promises an end to suffering. God has conquered death.

God didn’t kill His Son for revenge or wrath reasons. God is not an angry, warmonger. God doesn’t put a quota on those that can get into Heaven, depending on if they say a certain magic prayer. We may be surprised how many people end up in Heaven. Besides, Jesus’ focus wasn’t on the afterlife but what God can do for us here on earth. We aren’t selling fire insurance but a better life on this earth.  We don’t have to force God on others, but sometimes I am dying to tell others about God’s amazing unconditional love. I try to find ways to mention God in creative ways. You can tell when people want to go further. Then, I try to do a lot of listening. We have nothing to be embarrassed about.  Talking about God may be difficult because of what you think God is really like or because you may think you need to force God on others.

Category:

Reflections

Hell? NO!

Does God really punish people forever for sins committed in a few short years, or was hell an invention over the centuries to scare people into submission and obedience? Fire destroys but God would have to keep humans purposely alive to continue to torturer them. Most humans wouldn’t even persecute their enemies to this extent. Hell as unending suffering is pointless as it doesn’t produce any good. We must reject Hell if it is not true. God’s character is at stake. Sheol, Hades, and Gehenna are the words translated as Hell in the Bible. (Tartarus is used once and not relevant for this discussion) When we understand the biblical use of these three words, we will know what God says about Hell.

The Hebrew word Sheol in the OT is often translated as “Hell.” Sheol was simply a region or place of darkness occupied by the dead regardless of beliefs. Job desired to go there to escape his tremendous suffering (10:21 -22). King David describes Sheol as a place of darkness for those long dead (Ps 143:3). Sheol is never mentioned as a place of punishment. Recent translations simply translate Sheol as “Sheol.” God didn’t warn Adam and Eve about Hell as a consequence for rebellion. Noah failed to warn evildoers about Hell before their death by Flood. The popular understanding of Hell is not found in the OT.

Hades is another word translated as Hell. Hades was used in the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the OT, to represent the Hebrew word Sheol. Sheol in the OT never refers to a place where God is involved in torture where the dead go. Hades simply was a place where the dead go. Those who believe in the traditional idea of Hell never argue that Hades represent a fiery, afterlife punishment for those who didn’t believe. Many modern translations no longer translate Hades with the word Hell.

The NT is silent as well about Hell. The word Hell in the NT is translated from two Greek terms – Hades or Gehenna. We have already learned Hades is accepted as a place where the dead reside. Gehenna is found twelve times in the NT. Eleven occurrences are used by Jesus in the gospels. Once we understand what Jesus says about Gehenna, we will understand what the Bible says about our popular notion of Hell. Gehenna is the name of a real, literal, this-world valley nearby Jerusalem that has a history. It was the local city garbage dump where fires were kept burning to dispose of the garbage and symbolized a place of slaughter and judgment. Gehenna was the place of burned Israeli children sacrificed to false gods (Jer 7:30-31; 19:2-5). Josephus indicates this same valley was heaped with dead bodies of the Jews following the Roman siege of Jerusalem around 70 AD. When Jesus warned of others going to Gehenna, this is not a reference of afterlife punishment. Jesus used Gehenna to symbolize the horror of being rejected and abandoned by God to the merciless enemy who would cause their dead carcasses to be thrown into the burning, worm-infested valley.

Jesus never used the world Hell. He used the world Gehenna, which was a real place in the minds of the writers and readers at that time. We have translated it into a word that is not an actual historical place. Hell is a substitution not a translation of the word Gehenna. The best translation of Gehenna in the NT is Gehenna not Hell. The Bible doesn’t teach God created Hell as a place to torture people forever. Paul wrote fourteen epistles and never mentions Hell. He didn’t need to.  Jesus had already referred to one’s destination as a grave without any hope of a future destiny with their Creator. Paul spoke about Heaven for those who believed in God

Why does all this matter? Maybe most of us don’t believe in Hell anyway, or we would be crazy, sidewalk, evangelists shouting “you are going to burn in Hell.” Anyway, believers may not be as excited to tell others about their God if in the back of their mind they think Hell may come up. For seekers who the hell wants to get to know a hellish, sadistic torturer who some say predestines some people to an afterlife of eternal conscious punishment. We no longer have to feel obligated to sell fire insurance; instead, we can share the really good news about a better life with God. What kind of God thinks Hell scares people into true righteousness and an intimate relationship? Translators agree when to translate the Hebrew or Greek word into “Heaven.” There is no equivalent Hebrew or Greek word for our current concept of an eternal place of punishment translated as “Hell.” Imagine how it would change your life if you discovered there is no such place as our presently conceived afterlife concept of “Hell.” Make your own conclusions. Hell? Yes! Hell? NO!

Category:

Reflections

Do Our Beliefs About God Matter?

Our theology should not make it difficult for people to turn to God!

I began wondering in my twenties if what I had been taught about my Creator could be a stumbling block to those seeking God. People already are looking for reasons to turn their back on God; let’s don’t give them possibly untruthful reasons. When there are two debatable interpretations that can stand up to scrutiny, I believe we must err on the side that portrays God as the most relational to the human spirit. For example Hell portraying God as a sadistic torturer, if there is a defensible exegetical alternative, should be rejected. Humans don’t even keep their enemies alive on purpose so we can keep burning them.

More recently, I begin to think about wrong theology being harmful to followers. It does not appear fear-based theology has changed the church one bit. Has such theology been a misguided attempt to control our behaviors in an attempt to produce godliness? Jesus seemed to get the angriest with religious types.  Jesus seemed to think if people understood God’s true nature and unconditional love for them, this would lead to real change.  Does real change come from fear of being caught or genuine respect?

I have always wondered what it meant to be created in God’s image. How are God and I alike? Is what I think is fair in my gut what God is thinking as well? If an interpretation about God’s character doesn’t seem to portray a loving God, then I must keep studying to make sure my interpretation is correct. This is why I have concluded past teachings on topics such as God elects only certain people to enter Heaven or that God favors men over women when it comes to leadership, despite their gifts, is misguided.

Finally, I for some reason get agitated when God is said to be a mystery. How does that invite investigation by those who may be seeking God for the first time? Maybe the way we use the word is not the same way the Bible uses it.  I believe God is far more comprehensible than incomprehensible. God created us to know Him and be in a relationship with Him. Sometimes, we may say God is incomprehensible because we can’t explain our theology as to how it could possibly be true about a loving God. Why evil exists and God does not constantly interfere may be more understandable than we think.

Category:

Reflections

Can We Know God’s Will For Our Life?

I have beaten this issue to death. I have written an entire chapter on this subject and many posts. It may not even concern this generation as it did my generation or at least me when younger. I wanted so badly to know God’s specific will for my life – what school to intend, what career to pursue, who to marry. The truth is I could never know for sure God’s guidance as He doesn’t speak audible to me. If the following is not satisfactory, please read my others writings. Your Creator’s desire for you is no mystery. He isn’t like that!

The Bible never states that God’s will is something we must discover because it is unknown. God’s moral will is clear to us. God’s sovereign will is not something we have to worry about. Whatever is going to happen happens and the Bible doesn’t encourage an expedition to know our role. The Bible isn’t full of prayers to discover God’s specific will regarding what job to take, etc.

The Bible simply encourages making wise decisions. How? God gave us the Bible. Understand its guidelines.  God gives us gifts. Use them. We develop desires as we grow closer to God. Follow them. God gives us friends. Seek their counsel. God gives us brains. Use your judgment. God gives us circumstances. Take advantage of them. The question isn’t what is God’s will for me? The question to ask is what is currently the best choice I can make using my gifts and passions to love others as God loves me, based on past experiences, current circumstances, and future possibilities.

We may assume that there is only one path to take to fulfill God’s will which is ultimately to love others as God does in whatever we do. There are many godly paths we can take to make this world a better place for others. Paul for example says we are free to marry or remain single based on our circumstances. ( I Cor 7)  God’s will is accomplished whatever decision you make. You can be a business person or athlete. Consider your gifts, passions, experiences, and circumstances and go for it. God loves you. He is not hiding anything from you. God’s will is accomplished in whatever path we might choose as long as it isn’t immoral. God has given us such freedom.

Some prefer to think history is predetermined rather than unfolding. But, when you believe the future is known, you might assume “well, I better ask God for such knowledge to do the right thing.” In the Bible God seemed to have contingencies depending on the choices people made such as with Jonah and if the Ninevites repented. History may be much more open than we may think. If you think God knows the future, can you at least accept that God knows what decisions you will make based on your gifts and passions. Don’t worry about missing God’s will. When you fail morally, you have missed opportunities but not God’s will for you in the future.

In the NT there are no examples of seeking special revelation for guidance. In the OT seeking signs was hardly considered the norm.  It is rare if ever but when God needs to guide you specifically, He will show up.  You don’t have to ask. Ask Moses about the burning bush. Ask Paul about the blinding light. God shows up miraculous when people weren’t asking. Oddly, the Bible left out millions of people stories about praying to God for His will in their daily lives. God doesn’t intend we seek a sign but rely on judgment, counsel, gifts, desires, etc.  Don’t worry about making a wrong decision. Make the best decision you can is God’s desire for you. In I Cor 16:5-9 Paul made a decision based on circumstances. We don’t need to worry about what God’s doing to know what we must do.

God does not hide His will from us as if it is some mystery. People seem to always be looking for some “hidden knowledge” through the stars, etc. Why would God follow such common pagan practices? The truth is if we insist on a specific, individual will from God regarding amoral decisions, God hides things from us because we can never be sure the decision we make is God’s.  God doesn’t demand a specific will for your life. He knows decisions depend on lots of factors allowed by freedom. God is not a Controller. Only ridiculous parents, unlike God, demand or attempt to control their child’s daily decisions or future by telling them who they must marry or what career they must pursue. God does specifically guide us morally for our own good.

Category:

Reflections

Is God Understandable Or A Mystery?

Is God really incomprehensible or unintelligible? Can we understand how God’s goodness and evil co-exist? Since we are made in God’s image, if God’s ways seem unfair when reading the Scriptures should we keep searching or declare humans incapable of understanding God’s ways? God inspired writers to records His thoughts in the Bible for future generations to understand Him. Questions dismissed as unanswerable may be answerable. This viewpoint, rather than declaring God a mystery, may encourage others to know God better.

Deuteronomy 29:29 says: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us, and to our children forever…” God is not a mystery! The writer is contrasting the known from the unknown. How to obey God’s laws for your own good is clearly known. The secrets things can be future details of how God was going to keep His promise to Israel. Moses had just reminded his readers of God’s promise to Abraham that the Israelites are His people. (Deut 29:13) Yet, future generations will see the calamities that have fallen on the Israelites land (29:22-24) because of God’s judgments against rebellion. (29:25-28) Only God knows how He will see Israel through to enter the Promised Land, despite disobediences, and fulfill an oath to their ancestors for Israel to be a blessing to all peoples on earth. (Gen 12:3) We readers know God raised a Savior from Israel to bless all nations.

Did God rebuke Job in chapter 38 for trying to understand God? Actually, God’s response to Job seemed more open for in the end God’s angry was with Job’s friends, not Job. God rebuked Job’s friends for assuming Job needed to repent of some sin, assuming one always reaps what they sow immediately. The book of Job clearly teaches always blaming suffering on individual sin is heartless. The reality in this free world is that evildoers sometimes seemingly prosper and the righteous suffer.

Job is not rebuked for speaking up and trying to understand God, but his line of questioning may suggest God only cares if He doesn’t respond immediately to suffering in your life. Job pursued and needed more understanding of God’s ways, but we readers have the advantage of knowing Satan’s involvement and God’s careful oversight. We have the opportunity to learn from Job. Do we assume God doesn’t love us when our problems are not wiped away? Jesus’ sufferings were obviously undeserved, but God had not abandoned Him. God is not unjust nor does He loss control because evil has its day in a free world.

God is not unjust when the righteous such as Job suffer. God said to Job “would you discredit my justice.” (40:8) It is true no evil has free rein unless allowed by God, but do we know better how to run a free world that has chosen to rebel again their Creator? Genuine relationships and intimacy cannot exist without freedom. God mercifully does not annihilate people at the first sign of opposition. The truth is Job’s suffering than his prosperity had a greater impact on Job and those around him. Jesus’ miracles did not change the world as much as His sufferings. Our faith grows more during adversity than prosperity.

God does not lost control when the righteous such as Job suffer. God said “who is that that obscures my plans with words with knowledge?” (38:2) Job finally acknowledged: “I know you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (42:2) Job needed to hear from God and be reminded humans can’t always imagine what it is like to be God. Can we better run a free universe and bring good from bad? God’s timetable is not always our timetable. If God was some mystery, why did Job come away satisfied? God was not saying He was not understandable; just don’t question God’s justice or lack of oversight when the righteous suffer or the evil prosper. Suffering, as a result of freedom, became part of God’s story to lead us of our own volition to a paradise appropriate for free beings. Job and the Bible teach there is an answer to how suffering and the goodness of God can co-exist.

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Reflections

Can Praying Be Relaxing?

I am convinced God wants us to relax about praying and not feel guilt ridden all the time. Praying doesn’t earn me more of God’s affection; He already loves me unconditionally. Praying can draw me closer to God which is empowering.  Praying builds a relationship with God that doesn’t rid us of all sin but changes our attitude toward it. Hanging with God gives us more of a fighting chance in shaping and changing our desires and priorities for the good. Praying is more about communicating for support than manipulating for gain.

We really don’t have to tell God how to run the world and our lives. We can pray to God for healing and God may intervene, but if we are truthful God doesn’t intervene miraculously most of the time. Jesus ceased with miracles all together because they did not accomplish nearly what His suffering did. If you are praying for God to help you accept His decisions how to best run the world and when to miraculously interfere with suffering, if you are praying for God to be with you in the storms of life, if you are praying to God for wisdom in being with others that want His help, well then you might find praying more meaningful.

When Paul said to pray unceasingly, he surely meant to talk to God every opportunity you have. You can’t pray while sleeping or talking to others. You can’t always get on your knees or have to. You can talk to God while driving, running, whenever. God won’t quit doing His job if you are busy and don’t talk to Him for a while. You will though benefit talking with God as often as you can.

Praying is having a conversation with God anytime anywhere. God won’t forget your list of people if you don’t recite them all the time.  Keeping a list of those who have asked me to pray for them is more for me than God. God probably wishes sometimes I would quit praying and go be the answer to my prayers. God knows my individual needs. I don’t even have to say them out loud to him. God has my back! Sometimes though, it is comforting to share with God my struggles over and over and over.

Praying is not manipulating but giving God permission in our lives to accomplish His will for us. God doesn’t force Himself on us. Who doesn’t enjoy having a friend around all the time that loves us unconditional, that will listen and be available whenever I want to talk, that will enlighten me with wisdom that no one else really has based on their lack of experience in creating the world and humans. You cannot have a more dependable Friend.

Thank God He does not answer all my prayers. I pray to avoid pain and problems. When I have no problems, I sometimes don’t even think about God much less depend on Him. I am not the kind of parent God is. I will go to great lengths for my kids to avoid problems or experience pain. That is not always acting in their best interest. You don’t have to enjoy suffering, but sometimes suffering is the only way to influence others. Jesus prayed to avoid the suffering of the Cross, but He also knew God had His and the world’s best interest in mind. God did not answer Jesus’ prayer.

I learned recently the parable of the persistent widow isn’t about nagging God to death, so He will finally answer our prayers. [Luke 18:1-8] If an unjust judge will finally hear and answer your request after constant badgering, won’t our righteous Creator hear our request the first time? The answer may not be always what we want to hear but God always listens, cares, and always has our best interest in the long run. God does not have to be worn down by persistent begging.

Praying doesn’t work if you are always trying to avoid problems and suffering. Praying doesn’t work if you think you know how to better run the world than God. When prayers aren’t answered, do you really think God isn’t listening or doesn’t care? I don’t suggest praying to God what He needs to do. Pray “God, you know my desires but not my will but Your will; I know You have my and the world’s best interest at heart.”

Category:

Reflections

Is It Coincidental or God?

I know many will not be happy with what I say. Some may even accuse me of suggesting God is uninvolved or even disinterested in our lives. Nothing could be further from the truth. God just may not work in our lives as we think He does.  I have suggested this viewpoint because I don’t like the bad rap God gets with the idea that God controls everything. Also, I wish to be intellectually honest about freedom.

I don’t like the reputation God gains by suggesting He controls the day we die. This would mean God is responsible for a drunk driver killing another driver. God is not the cause of evil that leads to so much suffering and death on this earth.  Now, the future is not totally unpredictable for humans much less God. For example, if a skilled physician can predict the death of a seemingly healthy individual because he perceives symptoms that escape the untrained eye, how much more so our Creator. God is present everywhere and His knowledge is unimaginably extensive.

God has always been a tremendous respecter of freedom. God doesn’t cause bad things to happen to us, so logically I must accept God doesn’t always cause good things to happen to us. From the very beginning God gave us the freedom to love or hate Him. God can be accused of allowing bad things to happen because He created freedom, but God is neither the creator nor initiator of evil that results from misguided desires. We certainly can pray to God for healing and God may intervene, but if we are truthful God doesn’t intervene miraculously most of the time. Jesus ceased with miracles all together because they did not accomplish nearly what His suffering did.

Did God really give us the parking space when we were desperate? What about others who needed the space as well and maybe more than you needed? Did God really give us the job? What about all the others who prayed for the same job and maybe needed the job more financially? We can give thanks to God in all things, but sometimes our words may alienate others from God unintentionally.  We may innocently say “by the grace of God He spared my or their life.” What does this say about all the other people not spared on 9/11? Does God love less those not spared?

I am not always fond of the saying “God helps those who help themselves,” but sometimes our theology leads to passivity. If we think God is the cause of all things and a controller, we may be tempted to sit back and wait for Him to act. We may be waiting on a sign from God. We may need to get off our knees and go help the person we are praying for. With decision-making God doesn’t demand only certain paths to follow as human parents may. We are free to use our gifts and decide where we think we can make the greatest contribution in our current circumstances.  Many “Godly” paths can be chosen while still remaining entirely within God’s will. You just can’t go wrong with a desire to love God.

So, is God not active in our lives on a daily basis?  Not at all! God is impacting the world one changed life at a time; God is intervening daily. I am a better man for God being in my life than not. I dread to think how I would really treat others without God’s influence. God is always encouraging us to flee from sin and exhorting us to take a stand for evil. Why are we waiting on God? Hypocritically, we demand God stop evil but we do nothing ourselves to stop the evil of others. Blessings aren’t always coincidental by from God through others. God can do a lot of good in our world if we will just let Him.

One might accept that my thoughts are at least more consistent with freedom and give God less of a bad rap with others. How then does one live their life?  God sometimes intervenes directly but if we are honest, the miraculous is not the norm in most situations. Petition God for the miraculous, but don’t assume we know best how to run a free world.  Use prayer as a form of communication than manipulation. It isn’t best God always answer my prayers. When something bad happens, you don’t have to blame God or wonder why He doesn’t love you. When something good happens, you may be internally grateful but not discouraging toward others why God isn’t active in their life.

Category:

Reflections