Signs of God's Grace: Is God Involved?
Dr. James Mayfield
November 9, 2003 Text: Hosea 11:1-4 It is relatively easy to believe the good things that happen are gifts from God. We call them blessings and offer our thanks to God. But what about the tragedies? What about the unexplainable bad things that happen to us? If we give God credit for our blessings, should we not also blame God for the terrible things that happen -- tragedies we no more deserve than the obvious blessings we have received? To be sure, much of our pain and many of our problems are clearly not the fault of God. The vast majority of the agony and tragedy in life is the direct or indirect result of sin. For example, the mess in the Middle East is clearly the result of human sin that has compounded with high interest generation after generation after generation. But what about the child who dies of some disease we humans did not cause? Some have looked at unexplainable pain, such as the death of that child or other unexplainable cruelties we humans suffer, and declared these prove that either God does not exist, or that God does not care, or that God is like the disturbed child who enjoys pulling wings off butterflies. What does our Christian heritage have to say about the bad we know we do not deserve? Our frustration in dealing with this kind of issue sometimes leads us to embrace oversimplified explanations. One of the more simplistic responses is that everything good is from God and everything bad is from the devil. In Old Testament times, some Jews borrowed this insight from the Persians after having lived under their control. The Persians believed there is a good god and a bad god, and they are at war with one another, and the battlefield is where we humans live. Today there are some Christians who, in trying to make sense of both the unexplainable good and the unexplainable bad, view history as a cosmic battle between two deities: God and the Devil. However the Bible does not support such a view. The Bible is very clear that there is only one God, and this one and only God is for us, not against us. There is some mention of satan or the devil in the Bible, but it is a minor theme. The big culprit the Bible identifies is human sin - our sin. The Bible will not let us off with the plea: "The Devil made me do it." Or, "It is all the Devil's fault." Yet the Bible is clearly aware that evil is not merely a passive reality; evil is an active force in life. Greed, prejudice, hate and the like are forces that seduce us and lead us into all sorts of chaos that distorts and even destroys life. Little wonder we some times personify the force and power of sin and evil by calling it Satan. But this kind of focusing on the tragedies that are the result of sin and evil does not explain the tragedy that is beyond our human understanding. What about the child who dies of leukemia? By and large the Bible does not deal with unexplainable tragedy. On the one hand, I find this very frustrating. I want to be able to explain why there are unexplainable tragedies such as the death of a much loved child who died of a disease we humans did not cause. With Job, I shake my fist in the face of God and demand an answer. But, of course, the only answer I receive is either that of silence or the one Job received: "Where were you, little man, when I created all that is?" The Bible does not claim to explain the unexplainable. It does not explain why God created the world, why there is beauty, why there is humor, why there are squirrels and armadillos. The Bible simply declares God created all that is. The Bible presents story after story revealing God struggling with us humans century after century, trying to teach us to live the way God created us to live. This is the primary message of the Bible. It is not an answer book for all the questions we humans have. The Bible proclaims the revelation that God is the only God and this one and only God loves us and has not abandoned us. God so loved the world he even entered life as one of us, not only to show us how to live, but to reveal himself and his limitless love that led to his incarnation suffering death on a cross. Story after story in the Bible proclaims God refuses to give up on us. And although in our day and time it is not always clear how God is involved with us, the biblical message is very clear that God has chosen to be involved with us, trying to teach us the way to live, so that we will live as God intends and the world will become the creation God intends it to be. The Bible is story after story about God being involved with us, and through those stories we begin to see and sense God is involved with us, even today. And yet, we dare not become arrogant in this awareness, because there is so much, so very much, we do not know and much we humans will never know. It is in faith - profound and humble faith - that we embrace our belief in God. It is by faith we live in confident hope, facing whatever life has to offer, and even facing our deaths. We do not do so in the arrogance of pretending we have all the answers. By faith we live believing in God. Yet in our belief we are profoundly humble. I do not mean we are unconvinced in our belief, or that we are shy or timid in sharing our belief. By faith we are bold to share, but it is a boldness that is marked by the absence of arrogance and the presence of humility. So, where does this leave us in dealing with the unexplainable bad that happens? In what ways can we proclaim with integrity God is for us and not against us and still deal with unexplainable tragedy? Jesus said we must become like little children, and in many ways, our beliefs are like those of a little child. There is much we do not understand. There are pains and problems that do not make sense to us. But like a little child, we are able to move in and through it all because of our confidence in the Father -- the Father who is with us, always offering to take us by the hand if we will just reach up and open ours. Listen again to way Hosea described God's relationship with Israel: "I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them." But even knowing this about God does not answer all our questions. Like my granddaughter who is in the third grade, we cannot take two steps without her asking: "Papa, why ... ?" But just as she does not get all the answers she wants, neither do we. Yet she moves on with her life in confidence, trusting those adults who hold her hand. And so it is for us with our questioning; we know with confident faith, that just as an ideal father loves his child, so we are loved by God. By faith we believe our blessings are from God. But what about the unexplainable bad things that happen? We cannot explain them, but we know by faith, God does not inflict senseless pain on us. By faith, we know God is for us and not against us, This is what the crucifixion-resurrection proclaims. And because we know by faith what God has done in Christ, we are able to face the worst life has to offer. By faith, we live in the confident belief that the One who transformed the crucifixion of Christ into the salvation event for the whole world, will be able to work for good through whatever happens to us. We may not see the end result, but we live by faith, trusting the grace of God not to be defeated by the bad that happens. We can face whatever comes, confident God will provide what we need so that we will be able to face whatever must be faced, and given the power to move on. We cannot explain unexplainable tragedies, but we know by faith, that God who is revealed in Christ is able to use even the worst for good. After all, just look at what God did with the crucifixion of Christ. God, may we have profound and humble faith, so that in all situations we are able to live with confident hope. Amen. Pastoral prayer: God, as we remember those persons dear to us who have died this past year, we are grateful to know by faith that your love has embraced each one of them. Thank you for their lives and for all the good memories we enjoy; we are grateful for all they said and did that continues to inspire us to live better lives. And even when all our memories are not happy ones, we thank you for the wisdom and strength your grace supplied in the tough times. For the various ways your grace was and is at work through them, we give you thanks. God, there are others who have died whose lives have touched us deeply. Hear our prayers as we silently name them in our hearts. For the gifts of their lives and for the gifts we received through them, we give you thanks. For all the many ways your grace is at work in our lives, we are grateful. God, you know our worries and problems; help us draw on all the resources of your grace. We also pray for those who are going in harms way on our behalf, especially those from this congregation. This week as we honor veterans, we offer thanks for all those who have served us by serving in the military. We also prayer for all leaders around the world, both the formal and informal leaders; whether they are aware of you or not, may they be your instruments in bringing about lasting and just peace in all places. We pray for our President and his advisors; may they discern your will; give them the desire and the will to do it. And on this day we have set aside also to remember children in prayer, we prayer for all children everywhere. We pray for children so blessed who get to play soccer, go to sleep overs and birthday parties, and we also pray for children living in poverty, for children who are homeless, for children who are abused. We pray for children whose mother or dad is in prison and for children who are hungry. We also pray for teenage mothers and their babies. God, so move among us and in that we will put our prayer into action, and do what we are able to do for the children. All this we pray, remembering Jesus was teaching us to live when he taught us to pray; "Our Father ...."
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