Both of the moments caused me to step back beyond sitting in a theater while watching a performance in order to reflect on the promises of God. The first occurred when a number of the children came on stage carrying the national flags from their mother countries. I was hit with the picture of God’s heart for the nations and the fact that God is redeeming people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. He is gathering people together from radically different places, homes, and “normals”. God is in the process of the most amazing adoption story…He is bringing people from all corners of the globe into His family.

The second moment occurred during the final number of the night. In the background, the song “Stand by Me” was playing. The version that was used was, in a word, incredible. (Find it here) It mixed people singing from New Orleans, France, Amsterdam, South Africa, the Congo, Italy, and other places. It was amazing to see people from different backgrounds, nationalities, and languages joining together in a song. The thing that hit me, however, was again the reality of what God is putting together. In Revelation 7, the reality of eternity with Christ is people from every tribe, tongue, and nation praising God. The worship of God will resound throughout eternity and it will far exceed the awe of seeing people from multiple languages and nations singing “Stand by Me.” Today I am full of praises to God for His faithfulness in showing Himself in the midst of my everyday experiences. There is also a sober reminder that the work of reaching the nations is not completed. There are over 4,500 people groups that have never heard the name of Jesus. The chorus of heaven is eager to add their harmony. What part can you play?

On a different note, however, I want to play out our hearts a little bit more. I want to step back and ask the question, “What if God intervened exactly the way we demanded every time we saw something we didn’t like?” You probably don’t see a problem with this. The world would be a better place if God did exactly what you expected all of the time. The problem is that if we step back a little bit, this really isn’t what we want at all. We want the comfort of knowing that our family, our friends, and our problems will be taken care of in the way that we want and expect. But do we really want God to intervene everywhere that suffering and evil are found? Your gut reaction is probably, “Yeah, I would love that!!!”

The problem is that we don’t want God to forcibly change our hearts every time we have a thought or action that is contrary to Him. We want Him to change everybody else, conforming them to our idea of what justice is. We want others to change while God gives us the comfort of being free from suffering. But we don’t really want God to change us by force. We don’t want God to force change except for when we want Him to. We are control freaks. We are sinners and we want God to do things our way.

If you think of the example of Job (strongly suggested here), everything about our sense of justice screams in frustration at the thought of a righteous man, Job, losing his family, his wealth, and his health in the span of a few hours. Our hearts cry out, “He is righteous. He doesn’t deserve this.” In Job 40, we see a different picture. Job has voiced his frustration that the righteous suffer. His friends have told him that he needs to repent because surely sin is at the heart of his personal suffering. Beginning in Job 38, God calls Job out. God identifies Himself as the Creator and Sustainer of all things and asks if Job has the knowledge to be God. In Job 40:7-9 we see a key in God’s questioning of Job:

“Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like His?

There is no clean way to question God’s goodness without elevating ourselves and debasing God. This isn’t to say that there are extremely, extremely difficult situations and realities of life that might tempt us to believe that God is not near or that God does not care. My prayer for you is that as you face these incredibly dark and trying realities that you might seek the Lord and find Him rather than crying out for an idol of justice that is carved from your own image and your own thoughts. Be encouraged; God is not idle. He has intervened and He hears your cries. He is good and He is still doing good. Look no further than the cross on Calvary and the blood that cleanses sinful hearts.

At the risk of over simplifying the matter, maybe part of the problem is that we are trained to say that God is good without ever thinking through how God is good; specifically how God is good in the midst of suffering. When troubling life experiences and suffering directly impact us, simply saying a foundation-less ”God is good” no longer suffices. I would like to make an observation about our perception of God’s goodness and challenge you to think differently about God’s goodness in the midst of suffering.

When we question God’s goodness, we are saying that we prefer God to intervene in order to stop suffering. Not just any suffering, our suffering. Maybe the suffering of a loved one. We want God to forcibly step in and change circumstances. We want God to strike down dictators, stop drunk drivers, heal the sick, slap our enemies upside the head, and perform countless other interventions. We want God to step in and make things right before they go wrong. There is an inward cry and groan for things to be made perfect. This is a good desire. We want perfection. We demand perfection.

The problem is that everywhere we look, we see imperfection. We see imperfection because sin, our sin, has brought the curse of imperfection upon us. Instead of seeing the collective rebellion of humanity as the cause of suffering, we blame God. We blame God for not intervening and stopping evil and suffering. What we don’t realize while we are leveling accusations against God’s goodness is that God has intervened. God sent Jesus to take the totality of human imperfection, rebellion, sin, and suffering upon Himself. The perfect one bore the judgment that is rightfully deserved by imperfect sinners so that through the blood of Christ, perfect redemption might come.

The problem with this is that imperfection continues to exist until Christ returns and all things are finally and forever set right. We still suffer. We still experience heartache. We still suffer loss. We still cry. Even as we experience the continual redemption of God we see the fallout of sin. We groan inwardly for the day that every tear is wiped away. Until then we have the hope of a God who intervened and who brought perfection to us, imperfect sinners. I pray that you see God’s faithfulness even in the midst of depravity and that you are encouraged by the perfect sacrifice of God.

Stay tuned for part 2…

We have experienced the joy of rejoicing with family over bringing home a baby and have experienced the sadness over disappointing family by pursuing a future as international missionaries. We have come to know the Lord in a whole new way because of the pants-kicking which was 2011. Even as I write this post, I cringe at the vulnerability of sharing our experiences. We feel burned, we feel hurt, we feel cheated, we feel disappointed, we feel dazed, we feel off-balance, and yet we feel hope. We have realized the promises of God even in the midst of suffering. The hurt is not over. The hurt may never fully be over…and yet through the hurt we have experienced the goodness of God.

Oops…I accidentally talked about 2011. When I look forward to 2012 my prayer is that God continues to “wreck” us and “break” us. My prayer is that we would not become too comfortable, too well off, or too adjusted that we fail to see God working in our midst. The pain, the hurt, and the disappointment of 2011 have led us to the feet of Jesus. Having experienced such a grace as this makes me thankful for our circumstances and for the manner in which God has made Himself known to us. We might not be comfortable and things might not have gone as planned…but our cup runs over with the goodness and mercy of God.

Without doing proper justice to the book of Ruth and in hoping to offer a quick “catch-up” to where I am going, Boaz consistently went above and beyond what was expected of him in the book of Ruth (spoiler alert: you might want to read Ruth before reading the rest of this…it will make more sense). Boaz did not merely let Ruth gather left overs, he provided abundantly more than what was required by the Law (hint: Deuteronomy 24 and Leviticus 19). He provided Ruth with protection that was not a requirement of the Law. Boaz commanded his reapers to drop extra sheaves for Ruth to pick up to increase her “harvest”. As I reflect on Boaz’s willingness to go beyond what was expected and required of him, I begin to wonder what goes into the making of a man like Boaz.

Boaz is born out of the marriage between Salmon, his father, and Rahab, the prostitute of Jericho (Joshua 2 and 6). Rahab’s story is readily familiar. She harbored the Israelite spies who were scouting out Jericho prior to the Israelite invasion which was spear-headed by Joshua. Rahab and her household were saved from the fate of Jericho because of her faithfulness in harboring the Israelite spies and because of her request that she might be spared by the hand of the Israelites’ God. Ultimately, however she did not place faith in the Israelites but in the Lord their God (Joshua 2). Salmon took Rahab as his wife and she gave birth to Boaz (Matthew 1).

Maybe this sheds some light on why Boaz goes beyond the letter of the law. He is a living example of God’s faithfulness to those who seek the Lord. The picture of God’s saving work in the middle of the destruction of Jericho toward Rahab and her family would have been on display among the people of Israel. The account of Jericho’s ruin at the hand of God would be remembered forever, indeed we are still remembering it today. How much more would those who were one generation removed from God’s victorious intervention at Jericho remember God’s mighty dealing with Jericho.

In the midst of their recounting the victory at Jericho, walks one family who was spared from the destruction. There is one family, and one mother (Rahab) in particular, who teaches her children of God’s great mercy and faithfulness from her experience of walking out of the deadly rubble of a city that had been leveled by the hand of God. She had walked out and the only explanation was that God dealt faithfully with her when she trusted Him for deliverance. She runs away from the rubble of her past, leaving it in the collapsed stones of a city wall and runs to the God who is mighty to save. She gets married and raises children who are taught of God’s great love for people, even foreigners…even foreigners who used to have a dirty, shameful past. Her son, Boaz, grows up and one day encounters a foreign woman in a field. 

Suddenly, Boaz’s loving kindness toward Ruth is an amazing reflection of the same grace of God that had been sweetly poured out on his mother, Rahab, and her family. What have you done with the grace that has been given to you? Maybe we need to be reminded of God’s gracious dealing with us as sinful people and then live in a completely different way in response to that abundant, free, lavish, wonderful grace.

Without writing a novel of a blog post; how often do we take the same approach with the Bible?  We readily agree that it is the inspired word of God which is useful for all aspects of our Christian life and which alone substantiates God’s revelatory writing to humanity. We are quick to elevate the Bible to a high standing in our mind and in our speech. My fear, however, is that when push comes to shove and the Bible says something that we don’t like, we are quick to elevate our own opinions and understanding over and above God’s revealed word to us.

The question might be asked, how often does this really happen? Unfortunately, probably way more than we like to admit. For instance:

• “I know the Bible says that followers of Jesus should submit to government authorities, but I just can’t  respect President _______”.
• “I know the Bible says that followers of Jesus should be involved in a local community of believers (i.e. church), but I’m better off on my own right now.”
• “I know the Bible says that husbands are supposed to love their wives in the same way that Jesus loves the church, but Jesus doesn’t know my wife.” 
• “I know the Bible says that we should care about the poor, but if those people had made better decisions they wouldn’t be in the mess that they are in.”
• “I know the Bible says that we should pray for our enemies, but frankly I think _______ is a jerk that even God couldn’t love.”

Is our high view of God’s Word backed up by a high commitment to live according to it? Maybe it’s just easier to talk up the Bible than to actually let it convict us and rub us the wrong way.  On the other hand, it is at those points that we are most uncomfortable with what the Bible says about us that we see the Spirit gain ground on our flesh.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”          – Galatians 2:20

“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:10-13

If there were ever words that I wished that Paul had not written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Philippians 4:10-13 would definitely be included. There is a natural, sinful, rebellious part of me that wants to be discontented in my time of need. After about two minutes of feeling the desperation of toppled dreams, strangled vision, and the lack of an immediate plan (and provision) for the future, I find myself very unhappy and entirely skeptical.  I am immediately thrown into a war of the mind that finds at its core the battle field of contentment. Do I really believe that God is faithful? Do I really believe that God is sufficient for whatever situation or circumstance that I find myself in? Do I really believe that God cares enough about me to concern Himself with my plans and my attempts to follow and serve Him? Dang, those are some vulnerable questions. Be honest, you’ve struggled with them. Maybe only in the recesses of your mind and heart, in places that you thought only you knew about and in ways that you thought only affected you.

When I read Philippians 4:10-13, there are some phrases that bother me because I know they need to apply to my life, to my heart, and to the way that I think. First of all, Paul says “I have learned.” He learned how to be content in whatever situation he found himself.  Suddenly, I realize that contentment doesn’t come naturally.  Paul offers a second statement that sheds more light on this…“I know how to be brought low.”  The knot in my stomach just got a little tighter…learning contentment comes, at times, through God-ordained humble pies. It is easy for us to say that Jesus is all that we need and that He is sufficient for our every need when (at the moment that we are speaking…or thinking) we have no perceived or felt needs. Of course Jesus is all I need when I know where the mortgage payment, car payment, grocery money, vacation fund, college savings, retirement, and regular savings are all being fed every month in healthy moderation. But what happens to our steely resolve when we don’t know where next month’s rent is coming from? When we don’t know how we are paying the bills tomorrow, let alone funding our kids’ college 18 years from now? It is in these moments that what we say has a head on collision with what we believe…and it is uncomfortable…and we don’t like it.

In hind sight, I clearly remember all of the times that God has provided for our every need in the past. I can distinctly recall the points at which God provided in a way that I never could have.  They were faith multiplying moments and we rejoiced in the Lord for His faithfulness. But, oh how quickly I forget how long the arm of the Lord really and truly is. I’ve gotten comfortable in my abundance (and to be clear my abundance is simply being able to know exactly how each and every bill and need is going to be met in a given month). Now it’s time for the hard part…God help me to learn how to be content and teach me to know how to be brought low…and may God alone be glorified in the process.

Something that has stuck out to me over the last couple of days and most especially today is the amount of coverage that Camping has received in proclaiming the end of the world. Social media is eating it up. Facebook is full of commentary. Maybe a surprise to Camping, most of the feedback is negative. Jokes abound concerning what people are going to do in light of the pending destruction of the world. Questions are raised as to what would be chosen for a last meal, a last recreational activity, or maybe the last sporting event that one might enjoy before the end occurs.

Harold Camping’s “prophecy” has brought criticism and ridicule. For the most part, it is rightly deserved. Jesus speaking about His return in Matthew 24:36 states, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. “ I wish that I could say that the majority of the criticism that Camping is receiving is coming from biblical interpretation and from a call to view all things including the end of the world from a theologically accurate perspective.

The sad truth, however is that the attitude expressed by many people that I have observed over the last few days is one that ridicules the notion of the return of Christ and not the specific time (or someone’s attempt to nail down a specific time…i.e. Harold Camping). We are not to try and figure out when Jesus will return, but if we are true to God’s Word than the reality is that Jesus will return but “no one knows about that day or hour…but only the Father.” Are we living with the expectation that Jesus will one day return and the end will come; not out of paranoia but out of a conviction that Jesus is serious when He says, “Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” ?   (Mark 13:33)

Tomorrow at 6 pm (Oakland Local Time), Harold Camping is most likely going to be wrong in his “prophecy”…however, there is a reminder that Jesus will return one day and it will not be the laughing matter that we have probably and shamefully turned it into.