The Goodness of God and the Power of God: Paul's Optimism

Paul: "I'm just a cock-eyed optimist"

 

 

Paul knew suffering.  In his own words:

 

23 Are they bservants of Christ? cI am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, dfar more imprisonments, ewith countless beatings, and foften near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the gforty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was hbeaten with rods. iOnce I was stoned. Three times I jwas shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, kdanger from my own people, ldanger from Gentiles, mdanger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 nin toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, oin hunger and thirst, often without food,2 in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for pall the churches. --2 Cor 11:23-28

Gee, Paul...haven't you heard of positive affirmation?  Such a downer to talk about all that suffering.  You really need to Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive!

Never fear, friends!  Paul puts it into perspective:

3 We zput no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but aas servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: bby great endurance, cin afflictions, dhardships, calamities, 5 ebeatings, imprisonments, friots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 gby purity, hknowledge, patience, kindness, ithe Holy Spirit, jgenuine love; 7 by ktruthful speech, and lthe power of God; with mthe weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, nthrough slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and oyet well known; pas dying, and behold, we live; qas punished, and yet not killed; 10 ras sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; sas poor, yet making many rich; tas having nothing, uyet possessing everything. --2 Cor 6:3-10



Uhh...not exactly the angle I was looking for...

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time nare not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for othe revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation pwas subjected to futility, not willingly, but qbecause of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that rthe creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that sthe whole creation thas been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have uthe firstfruits of the Spirit, vgroan inwardly as wwe wait eagerly for adoption as sons, xthe redemption of our bodies. 24 For yin this hope we were saved. Now zhope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we await for it with patience. --Rom 10:18-25

Ok, not only am I suffering, but all creation?!  Apostle Debbie Downer continues:

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For bwe do not know what to pray for as we ought, but cthe Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And dhe who searches hearts knows what is ethe mind of the Spirit, because7 the Spirit fintercedes for the saints gaccording to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together hfor good,8 for ithose who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he jforeknew he also kpredestined lto be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be mthe firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also njustified, and those whom he justified he also oglorified. --Rom 10:26-30

 Whoa, now that is putting it on a bit thick now, Paul!  I mean, let's not over do it.  Do you really mean all things?

In all seriousness, this is very hard.  In the midst of suffering--losing your job, having a frightening medical diagnosis, having a child go through an illness you're not sure he will ever recover from...these things work for good?!

If one has been told that no, God is not in control, these things just happen, it's part of being in a fallen world, don't blame God--well, such a sentiment of "all things working for good" seems meaningless at best, cruel and insensitive at worst.  But Paul is not done:

14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish pthe idle,3 qencourage the fainthearted, rhelp the weak, sbe patient with them all. 15 See that tno one repays anyone evil for evil, but always useek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 vRejoice always, 17 wpray without ceasing, 18 xgive thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. --1 Thess 5:14-17

Give thanks in all circumstances?

 15 pLook carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 pmaking the best use of the time, because qthe days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what rthe will of the Lord is. 18 And sdo not get drunk with wine, for that is tdebauchery, but ube filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in vpsalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 wgiving thanks always and for everything to God the Father xin the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 ysubmitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. --Eph 5:15-21

Giving thanks for everything?! 

We reject this, we rebel against it.  We are often told "this is just evil, God didn't want it in your life"--given a few platitudes that refuse to accept the Inescapable God and call it comfort.  We would rather cling to a god who is surprised at suffering, who feels your pain (but cannot stop it)--than acknowledge that the God who holds burning suns in His hands actually is in control...because that idea is too frightening.  It is frightening because it turns over judgment to Another.  We give up our right to be offended at God.  We give up our right to be lords of our lives, and must acknowledge Another who we do not fully understand or comprehend.

Little gods are easy to comprehend, and we don't have to fear making them lords--they don't demand that.  They offer vague comfort, therapeutic help to guide us through our problems--but they are not truly like the God of the theists--they are the deistic gods, who do not dare do anything of which we do not fully approve.  Rightly this is called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.

And yet...yet, if we accept it, if we say, "Yes, You are in control--though I do not understand"--in short, if we have faith--we can be free from the worry that the forces of chaos are truly in control.  God, Sovereign in times of plenty and in times of want, Sovereign in life, Sovereign in death--and trust that He is, ultimately and unreservedly, good--then we can rest in His arms.

But giving up our right to judge God does not come naturally.  Even if we do not believe in Him, we want to shake our fists in range against Him.  Indeed, it is the easiest thing in the world to reject the Inescapable God...and the hardest thing to accept Him.  Yet calling it "cutting off your nose to spite your face" is far too mild; it is cutting off your ground of being, your source of existence, because you are not in control.  I'll take my existential ball and go home--to annihilation, because reality is not what I want it to be.

Oh, of course--we have the best of motives.  We don't want to saddle God with responsibility for evil.  We want to present Him with a positive spin.  We want to be kind to those who are hurting (as if saying, in effect, "God is not in control" or "this evil serves no purpose, but God let it happen anyway" is somehow comforting).  We want to shield our minds from the realization that we are not as wise as we think we are, and we are not as strong as we pretend.  We deny our brokenness, and cut ourselves from the One who can restore the shattered vessel.

Yet this view seeks to deny the very reality we see: suffering is inescapable.  If the God of the Bible (even just the Red Letter Jesus) exists, then we cannot use rhetorical flourishes to dismiss His claim to be in control, that yes, bad things happen--very bad things.  And yes, God could choose to stop them--but does not.  This vaguely defined Jesus conforms neither to the reality we see around us, nor to the Bible.  It simply performs the service of an object to cling to.  In short, an idol.  And honestly, I cannot pretend to worship an idol that I myself know I created out of my own desires for a god that I can understand fully and control.  I do not want to worship my own creation; I yearn to worship the One who created me.

But more audacious to human dignity than the idea of a Sovereign God is a God who Himself will bear the suffering of His creation.  And this we shall continue, God willing...