Do You Want a Real God?

Back in the days of homeschooling, I had my daughter write a newspaper. The "news" she covered was not about the latest armed robbery or the local politician being arrested for embezzling campaign funds; the news she covered was news because it went against the events of a fallen world. As often as we hear about murder and self-idolization, it has simply become part of the daily grind, but she focused on things that were truly newsworthy, things we don't typically experience in this fallen world --rescue stories, or the person who had the opportunity to get away with the attack but confessed to it instead. Real news, good in a world full of trouble.

I considered another reversal of thought the other day: If God was like the gods of this world. Like popularity or fame or the approval of others. Have you ever been popular? Have you had your experience with fame? How long did it last? Fifteen minutes? Until the next edition of the newspaper came out? Until another big personality went viral? Until you grew too old, or your record was crushed by the next up-and-comer? Maybe, until you did something not so popular. There you were, sweaty and depleted from all that effort, but now in the dust, alone, yesterday's news. The fame or popularity or approval you sought after, maybe you gave everything for, abandoned you; the blessing has run out. If God, like the god of popular opinion said, "I will forsake My people for someone smarter or more popular," what sort of God would He be? When the going gets tough, He gets going? Is that a mighty God? A trustworthy God? An immutable God? A selfless God?

What if God was like this trinity: Me, Myself, and I. Have you ever tried living only for yourself? Spending every weekend doing only what you wanted to do or every dime buying only the things you wanted to buy? Have you ever worked crazy overtime or not at all, because it suited you? How long before you had to return to the real world? How long before no one counted on you, no one invited you, no one thanked you, no one remembered you? How long before you felt empty again? How long before the voice you obeyed --your own --led you astray? What if God was like that? What if the psalmist and others throughout history had, instead of saying, As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him (Psalm 18:30), had instead said, God gets a little wonky from time to time; He changes His mind a lot, rarely says what's on His heart, and sometimes gets in His feelings and doesn't answer His phone. What if God had not promised through Isaiah, If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land, or through Luke, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it; but instead warned us that our loyalty or obedience has no bearing on His treatment of us, He's going to look out for Number One no matter what? I know me --too well; a god like me is not what I want.

What if God disallowed any hardship and did things just as we design? Have it your way is the American way, right? Streaming services and customized programming; ads and social media posts based on our preferences alone; restaurants, cruises, automobiles --all encourage us to partake by offering us exactly what we want. But who looks out for what we need? "I know what's best for me!" Really? Are the corporations and services who solicit our dollars and covet our patronage really interested in developing us or strengthening our character? Do we want the god who obeys us? Do we want the god who caters to our whims? Do we want the god who protects us even from the things that will mature us and stretch us? 

Through Moses, God says, "And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed," (Deut. 31:8) and reiterates through the author of Hebrews, "For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" (Heb. 13:5) Whether we're successful or handsome or wealthy or not, God loves His children. Enough to help them grow. James 1:2-4 tells us to count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Lacking nothing! 2 Timothy 2:12 and Hebrews 10:36 assure us there are rewards to enduring and remaining faithful to our God. And He is faithful to us in our trials.

That's the kind of God I want --One who loves me as I am but tests me and conditions me and challenges me so that I will not remain that way. The God who is selfless and expects me to imitate Him in that selflessness and love for others. The God who commands I obey Him but is so perfect, so wise, and so in love with me I can trust Him implicitly. The God who is faithful to me and expects me to be faithful to Him. The God who supersedes our expectations and can never be less than He is. A real God and the Author of some really Good News!

Photo courtesy Dawn Zborowski

Midweek: When Clouds Cover

Today's reprint is from K.J. Ramsey's The Book of Common Courage:

A sudden fog
fell on our future.
More than faith, we feel frightened.
More than fear,
we feel lost.

We lift up our eyes,
but we only see clouds.
Our bodies brace
for what may fall.
Nothing seems certain.
Fear lurks, tall.

Lord, these clouds conceal
You face, our faith.

When grace seems hidden
behind thick clouds,
give us the courage to trust they are filled
with needed rain.

Guide us
into the cloud
of our unknowing.

Spirit, stir us
to greet our grief
with compassion.

Christ, make us
willing to witness
our world as it is.

Father, help us
hear Your voice
guiding us through the fog.

And, Lord, we pray: 
may this disorientation 
be a door.

When we feel lost,
may we risk
being found.

Amen.

~ K.J. Ramsey, The Book of Common Courage

A Supernaturally Real Kingdom

It's my only choice.

She's a student teacher.

I like jumbo shrimp.

We snicker at oxymorons, and perhaps the title of this article appears to be one, but in studying the Kingdom of God, we find we cannot always trust our senses. Jesus clearly defined His kingdom as one that is not like anything we find on earth:

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” (John 18:36) 

Here's a clue, He seems to say. Do you see those under My authority coming to stop what is happening right now? And as scary and dark, unjust and painful as Jesus' crucifixion and the events surrounding were, He allowed what needed to be done for the sake of a kingdom greater than anything we see being constructed on earth. Talk about your oxymorons! A kingdom built by the death of its King. Glory and honor gained by lowliness and servanthood. Joy bursting forth from suffering, and prosperity birthed out of poverty. The Kingdom of God is not established in the physical, the earthly, the temporal; the Kingdom of God is established in the supernaturally real! Human beings humbled by their great deficit and rebellion, overwhelmed by the sufficiency of a Savior, surrendered and transformed by His Holy Spirit into people of His vision, His grace, His passion, and His character. In John 6:63, we read Jesus' words:

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 

As believers, we are indwelt by the Spirit, which means we should be walking in imitation of the One who is Spirit. If we are indwelt by the Spirit but walking in the flesh, walking in imitation of the things of this world --self-preservation and aggrandizement, the pursuit of money, the estimation of family above anything, a conscience so warped by earthly standards we cannot clearly hear the voice of God --we won't bear fruit for the kingdom. When we walk in the flesh, we can be of no use to a supernatural, resurrectionary kingdom; we are at war with the Spirit in us. (Romans 8:1-14) We are, as our pastor so eloquently put it, "feeling the death pangs because we are fighting against the life in us."

The inhabitants of the Kingdom of God are characterized by a life of grace in a society of cruelty and greed; unity among brethren in a world that sows discord; honor and integrity when it appears of no earthly profit; forgiveness, gentleness, and peace when others seek strength in vengefulness, coarseness, and turmoil; fellowship with and encouragement toward those we find difficult or different; self-less-ness in selfie-driven places; an eye to the eternal in which is grounded a magnitude and purity of hope the terrestrial cannot possibly generate, a hope we long to share with the world at large; and love for our Redeemer and all members of His creation. This becomes possible when we are directed by and obey the Holy Spirit. Supernaturally we are empowered to walk in things that are eternal, things that are life, things that are real.

Let me take just another moment. The credit card or the dollar in your wallet. Does it possess any value at all? What do you think that little piece of plastic or paper is truly worth? It is a representation of something larger, buying power. The physical realm in which we currently exist, the bodies we inhabit, are a foretaste, a representation of a kingdom much greater. This is not the endgame; this is not the reality. I mean, if this world is all that is real, if there is nothing after this, why practice any type of restraint whatsoever? And what manner of restraint; on what are our standards based; what is our moral compass? But if there is more, if this world is simply an imperfect inclination toward a perfect eternal kingdom, are we assuming the characteristics of its inhabitants? Are we praying and working for its glory to be manifested here on earth? Are we assured that with God all things are possible? Are we powered by His strength for His service? Are we, by rigorously training and working as ambassadors of our King and compelled by love, prepared and preparing others for the fullness of a kingdom that is eternal in length and nature? Are we citizens of the ground under our feet, or are we citizens of the supernaturally real kingdom of God?

Photo courtesy LuAnn Martin