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Before entering into the study of The Divine message to us, we must be under the influence
of our Mentor, The Person of God who teaches us, and by whom we grasp spiritual phenomena,
God The Holy Spirit. To worship God we must do it "in Spirit, and in truth (The Word)". But some reading this may be "carnal", or without The Spirit, which is easily corrected. IJn 1:9 is the "purification verse"; "If we cite our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us of all wrong doing (unknown sin)." Instantaneously we are filled with The Holy Spirit and ready to glean from The Word. |
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There seems to be a question in the minds of many Christians concerning God's involvement
in the events that shape human destiny. After the terrible tragedy on September 11th, I
watched, horrified, as man after exalted man in the ministry fumbled and stammered, trying
to explain why God allowed the terrorist attack on New York City to occur. The best they could come up with was some obscure babbling that culminated in their assurance to the masses that "God loves us", yada, yada, yada. It amounted to an apology on God's behalf. Crap! And these were luminaries in various religions! Little wonder that our nation is faltering. Let me establish the fact, up front, that God most certainly did permit the devastation that struck America that black day, and unless we wake up and get it right, the Trade Towers will be a picnic compared to what will befall the United States. "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are , made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools..." Romans 1:20-22 The last line of this passage is an apt response to anyone who sneers at my statement... "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools...". The first question that comes to mind, regarding why God would allow such an atrocity, is answered by the concept of eternity, as opposed to time, where we reside. On this side of the "eternity barrier" we see things as men, and in the case of horrible death, we cringe and wail. Death is the ultimate finality, and the vast majority jump to the conclusion that God would never allow such terrible things to come to pass. The passage, above, calls this attitude the "imaginination" of a "foolish heart", and charactarizes those thoughts as "vain". Why vain? Because we have the temerity to assume that the universe functions according to our extremely limited perspective. When we see somwething as terrible, it's unacceptable, and we compund our foolishness by condemning God for allowing it. Well, here's a new flash for you folks; the universe is under the sway of The Almighty. He makes the rules, not us, and if we have any desire to understand the true nature of human events then we must come to know how God thinks, what His priorities are. One principle is simple enough to grasp; every Divine act conforms to His absolute perfection, one principle charactaristic of which is infinite love. The trick is to fathom how we can reconcile love with gruesome death. "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." Colossians 1:16 As men we must remember, when we approach the subject of God and all that He does, that we are severely limited. We only have the ability to percieve of things with the crude faculties that we possess, and these faculties do not give us anywhere near the entire picture. The ghastly images of death and destruction that flash before our eyes naturally leave us breathless, terrified. But then, this is the understandable reaction of a tiny, insignificant creature that cowers amidst the vortex of violence and bloodshed. Only a damned fool will assign to God the same limitations that we have. Therefore, if we hope to understand what reality actually is we must learn to understand Him, and fortunately, He has given us the ability to know and understand Him in His Word. Death, to God, is not the traumatic event that we see it as. It involves no more than walking from one room into another. Life never ceases, is never interrupted. It merely changes venues. When a human being dies they shed this frail vessel of flesh and don an everlasting body of incorruption. To God, you see, death is victory, a glorious event. "So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 Yet, God is not unreasonable. He does not expect us to act like Him. We are his creatures, formed by His hand, and He gave us our limitations by design. He expects us to grieve the loss of a loved one, and to be aghast at needless violence. However, He also expects us to understand the world from His perspective. The successful Christian life is based entirely upon a knowledge of God. This is the purpose for which He has provided us His Word. Even though we are still limited in our perceptions, we can come to see the human drama as the vast plan of God unfolding under His immaculate supervision. But the burning question still remains unanswered; "Why does God allow cruelty, dictators, violence, starvation, etc." The key word in this answer is "volition". God made us free, and He installed the human race on earth for a reason, to serve a important purpose. In the course of His plan He must allow the free will of man to determine, to some extent, the events that shape our world. He will intercede when it pleases Him, and He definately does manipulate circumstances, but much of what we see happening around us is permitted in order to complete the plan of God. There is a logical answer to every question, but we are not expected to know it all. God never intended for us to comprehend the enormous scope of world events. We are to understand certain principles, however, which pertain to His involvement. The priorities that we are given are those which involve the management of our own life, and one critical aspect of that issue is our relationahip with God. He has provided for every Christian, in every circumstance of life. Nothing that happens on earth can touch us unless He allows it, and if He does permit it there is a reason. It's up to us to learn enough about Him to discern what those reasons are. Tragically, the vast majority of Christians in America today have no relationship with God because they know nothing about Him. Oh, there are millions of religious types, but that doesn't give them a relationship with God. At best, it teaches them a system of taboos and sends them scurrying about on do gooder crusades to outlaw abortion, or restore prayer to the schools. What's happening to our country today is a direct result of the malaise which plagues Christianity. As goes the Christian, so goes the Client Nation, and our failure as Christians is taking it's toll. In effect, God is not justified to step in and prevent the terrible things that are happening to us because His intervention requires the proper function of our volition, our faith in Him. Not a religious fervor, but a personal, intimate rapport that only comes of studying His Word within the system that He has set in motion. (see The ICE Principle). Only God can deliver us from terrorism and the animosity that the world holds toward us. Just as we were established a nation by His power, so we are sustained a nation by the same power. "And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?" 2 Chronicles 20:16 |