Our Earthly Happiness is not the Goal of God

March 31, 1976 ~ It was my twelfth birthday and I had eight of my best friends over for the celebration of my last year as a preteen. I received eight gifts that day but I only remember one, the iconic poster of Farrah Fawcett from my friend Todd. I think Farrah was my first crush and it lasted for about five years. She was beautiful, wealthy, and everyone in the western world knew her name. She must have been so happy!

Fast forward to November 1982. Michael Jackson releases his sixth studio album "Thriller" and the music video soon followed. It became the greatest selling album of all time, about 65 million copies. For you younger folks an album is a large vinyl (plastic) thing that spun around on a machine about the size of a toaster oven and played scratchy versions of the latest hits. Michael was bigger than life and we have seen that life played out in tabloids ever since. He had talent, looks (for a while), boat loads of money, and his own amusement park. He must have been so happy!

Two days ago both Farrah and Michael died and it seemed like the rest of the world's news came to a halt. The images of the "then" and the "now" were SO telling. The young, vibrant, attractive, smiling faces of the "then" were contrasted to the aged, tired, worn, and ill images of the "now". Not so much happiness now. Sunsets fade and so do we. Like grass, they were here then they were gone and so is my poster of Farrah.

I was talking to Ivor this week and reflecting on my last post about faith and the circumstances of our lives. I was sharing a comment that came from one of our readers. In a nut shell he saw my struggle with cancelled flights and lousy airline customer service as just one of a million other people's struggles on the same day and that God probably wasn't intimately involved in it per se. He didn't necessarily think that God was using the circumstances to test my faith or that my prayers were integral to the outcome. He said it like this: "There were lots of people in airports saying foxhole prayers trying to get back on schedule and minimize chaos in their lives. I just don't know if God is rewarding seats based on faith." He also shared that he didn't see God as being hyper-involved in peoples lives.

So what in the world does this have to do with Farrah and Michael? I think I can bring this around so hold on tight. Two main intertwined thoughts: Is God involved and what is his purpose? More specifically, if he is involved, what is his purpose in allowing and/or participating in our circumstances? Is his purpose to maximize our happiness? Does he reward faith and if so how? I want to go to the Word for the answers.

Moses was leading the Israelites through the desert and God was leading them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When they came to the Red Sea which was like the epitome of disrupted travel plans, God divided the sea so they could pass on dry land. Was God's purpose the "happiness" of the Israelites? Or was it to get them to the place he wanted them to be and to show them his glory. Was he involved in their lives and their circumstances? For sure!

The Apostle Paul shared his travel difficulties in 2 Corinthians. " . . . been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked." Does this sound like a Christian rewarded for his faith? Sounds more like he needs a refund from his travel agent.

Clearly God wasn't ultimately interested in Paul's earthly happiness. God promised Paul an eternity of perfect happiness and joy but NOT in this world. God sees the lives of every human being and sees how all our lives and all our circumstances are weaved together and he is involved in all of it, not as a divine puppeteer pulling all the strings but also not as a passive observer either. God wants to see all come to repentance and saving faith. Sometimes however he does reward faith (e.g. David dropping Goliath with a small stone or the healing of the centurion's servant) but often he has plans in our circumstance that may have more to do with God's work in someone else's life than our own. It's not all about us. We may never see the connection or God's purpose but for sure He has one. The Bible says that a sparrow doesn't fall from the sky without his knowing and all the hairs of our heads our numbered. That's a God who is involved in even the smallest details.

But friend, happiness in this life is always temporary and fleeting. Farrah's beauty faded, her marriages dissolved, and her health waned. Michael's esteem fell, his money disappeared, and his health also waned. Our earthly pursuit of happiness is usually a road away from God. It is most often in our weakness and our suffering that we are humbled and seek God. But God in his love has given us glimpses of heaven (a baby's smile, a sunset, a clear starry night sky, a piece of cherry cheesecake, or a lover's kiss) but in this world they will all fade.

Conclusion: God isn't interested in our earthly "happiness" although he does bless us with happiness and joy at times. He is interested in a restored relationship with us. Sadly, it's often happiness and success that are the greatest obstacles to our faith in God. Be assured that God is involved and aware of all of it. He directs more like a conductor leading an orchestra or a weaver creating a tapestry than a puppeteer controlling a puppet.

Sorry if this was a bit disjointed today but I hope that there was something in there you could grab a hold of!

Peace to you,

David

Why God, Why?

This week was the first anniversary of the death of Steven Curtis Chapman's five year old adopted daughter, Maria Sue. For those of you who don't know of Steven or of his family's story, it goes like this. Steven Curtis Chapman is a very successful Christian music artist who had six children (three biologic children and three adopted children from China). On May 21st, 2008 his five year old daughter, Maria Sue, was killed in his driveway when his older son backed over her with the family's SUV. It doesn't get a whole lot worse than that.

On Thursday night I had a beer with a friend who had some very hard but very valid questions about the sovereignty of God and the problem of God and evil. And, yes I had one very dark and malty beer. We can talk about the biblical view of alcohol consumption at another time so please don't let this be a stumbling block for you. It was a very refreshing beer but even more refreshing conversation from a man who is courageous enough and gracious enough to say what was on his mind even if it risked confrontation. Although he had a couple major concerns, God has laid it on my heart to address this one issue today: What is God's role in the evil that occurs in the world? HUGE question and one that has been the topic of four hundred page theses. This is not an easy topic to address in a five minute blog post so I want to do this over two weeks.

My friend and his wife have dealt with significant hardship surrounding the health of two young daughters. His concern I think was two fold. First, was the issue of how Christian friends often respond with platitudes or Christian-ese tag lines (though, likely well intentioned). They would say things like "God has a plan" or "God is testing you" or "God is using your daughters for a purpose". The second concern was, did God allow or cause the pain that had and still continues to occur? Or, is he outside of it completely. I want to touch on both of these very real and very important concerns.

I (we) have to start with this: God is who God is. I can't make a God after my own liking. So, I have to seek to know what God is like and not try to contrive a God I can wrap my mind around or a God that conforms to my preferences. God revealed his name to the people of Israel and that name was "Yahweh" which is translated "I am". He is who he is. The only way I can begin to grasp this is to humbly come to him and ask him. Then to try to set aside my own preconceived notions either of my own making or those that were forced upon me. So, here is what I know:

The Bible is very clear that God (Jesus) knows all things and he knows future things. Psalm 139 gives us a picture of this: "O, Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from far afar. . . Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely." Jesus told Peter that he'd deny him three times (i.e. he already knew). Jesus healed the blind, the lame, the deaf, and raised the dead. He commanded the stormy seas to be calm. God allowed Satan to cause pain in the life of Job. God is involved and can and does interceded in the world and with the people he created. God didn't wind up creation then sit back and watch it unfold without intervention or concern. But how can we reconcile a God who is "love" with the occurrence and even the allowance of evil? If God knows everything and can't help or intercede then he is impotent and weak. (i.e. God sees suffering and says to himself "Dang, that is horrible! I sure wish I could do something about that.") That is not the God of the Bible and I would argue, not a God at all. If God is all powerful but refuses to intercede to prevent suffering, some would argue that he is evil or that he doesn't exist at all.

But maybe the answer is this: God does know, God does intercede, and God does allow things (even things we perceive as bad) because his perspective is so immeasurably more grand than ours and he knows from the perspective of being all knowing and from the perspective of eternity what is ultimately "good". I want to give a picture of what I mean and I'd like you to really try to mull over this until our next time together. Picture this: You are at a party and the host is cooking dinner. Your two year old daughter climbs up on a stool and reaches toward a large pot of boiling water. You sprint across the room, yelling "NO!" from the top of your lungs, you dive through the air and knock your daughter from the stool. As you both lay on the ground, your daughter is wailing and has a look of horror in her eyes. Her knee is scraped from the fall. In her limited mind, you are evil, mean, scary, and have caused her undeserved pain. What she fails to see is that you have saved her life or have averted a much worse scenario. The difference between your mental capacity and your daughters is not even close to the difference between our mental capacities and God's. Maybe, just maybe, God can see what we can't and we have to trust that somehow.. even if it is involves something as heinous as running over your little sister with the SUV that it can somehow be reconciled in the final tapestry of God's purpose and creation. I personally have to also remember that my life isn't lived in a vacuum and it is in some small way it is connected with MANY other lives and God is looking at that from back far.. When we look at newspaper print up real close all we see are some red, green, and blue dots (meaningless) but from back far it is the beautiful picture of a new born baby.

That's as good as I can do today my friends! By the way God is the only one who knows the "whys" surrounding a particular instance of evil or pain so be very careful trying to tell someone else why. If you don't know what else to say maybe just hug them instead! I know this post is entirely inadequate but then again, I am inadequate. But the God who lovingly knit you together is more than adequate! In the end there will be no more tears, no more death, no more mourning, or crying, or pain! (Revelation 21:4)

Love you all,

David