What Do You Suppose?

I would have lost heart unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart.
Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Psalm 27:13-14

SURELY goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Amen.

Psalm 23:6

ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD FOR THEM WHO LOVE GOD,
WHO ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.
ROMANS 8:28


"And if this account is true - and it is the Truth -
THEN LET EVERYTHING ELSE GO."
Martin Luther.


Here's something I've been considering lately:

We Christians are too quick to decide what God's intentions are. His Word says that His ways are higher than ours, and yet we race to explain everything! Recently the talk and hand-wringing has been about Obama. The consensus seems to be that his election would mean certain judgment and the doom of the last days or something. Everyone is afraid.

Well, maybe it's true... maybe not. There are many reasons I say that, not the least of which is that I have no delusions about my ability - or anyone else's - to read God's mind. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes wisely tells us this: "... then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun... people know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them..."

During the lifetime of Jesus, there were a couple of tragedies that occurred that are briefly mentioned in Luke 13. Apparently there were "some Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices." Whatever that is about, it doesn't sound good at all. Some people told Jesus about this and he responded in an odd way. He asked them a question: "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners that all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?"

My guess is that Jesus read their very minds. That's not a big leap because we do the same thing today: the Twin Towers fall, or a hurricane blows through, or an election goes sour, and we all rush to say, "JUDGMENT!" And I don't know but they might be right.

But they might not be.

Jesus continues:
"I tell you, no.
But unless YOU repent you will all likewise perish."

And then He Himself describes another recent tragedy that had apparently struck, seemingly randomly:

"Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?
I tell you, no.
But unless YOU repent you will all likewise perish."

Death comes to all - it's a curse from the Fall, but not always a "judgment." Sometimes. Not always.
The question from Jesus' perspective is not so much "why?" as "why not?" He is drawing our eyes away from what we see as "a judgment" to the grace staring us in the face, covering our very lives, just like it did those men standing there talking to Him that day. Those who were still unrepentant were still living and thriving. God is gracious and patient. Even in His wrath, He remembers mercy.

Circumstances are deceitful. We are unwise to judge whether a thing is a blessing or a curse simply by the way it SEEMS to us at the time.

I can think of several historical examples as well:

1. The persecution of the early Church. I'm sure THAT did not feel good - and yet it could not have been judgement. These were new Christians, thriving churches that were serving and giving generously. We see God's intention as we look back through Scriptures and through time: He sent the Church into all the world. And within a very short amount of time, Christianity had become a global religion.

2. The conversion of Constantine. Well, that looks like a blessing! I'm sure it felt like a blessing - no more being thrown to the lions. But again, the results are ambivalent - yes, there was peace and wealth restored. But that peace and wealth led to the undoing of the Church over a period of years. That very wealth, peace, and power proved to be too much temptation, resulting in wickedness in the priesthood and ignorance among the people. Hmmm.

3. The Barbaric Invasion. Looks really bad. Certainly we would have felt cursed by those blasted pagans! But looking backwards we can see more clearly: God was bringing the pagans to Christianity. "When we were still enemies, Christ died for us." They invaded, pillaging and burning (and yes, these are bad things that happened to good people), but those unexpecting, unsuspecting pagans found something they were not looking for: the Gospel.

4. There are many others, but I'll save the best for my last point:
the Crucifixion. This is the ultimate example of how appearances can be very deceiving.
The very moment when Christ looked weakest was in reality the very moment when He was conquering the Last Enemy. The very moment when His disciples hung their head in grief and disbelief was the very moment that God was once and for all removing their sins. The very moment when darkness covered the land and the sun hid itself was the very moment that the Light of the World finally broke through the darkness that had lain upon its people for so long.


The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear? Ps. 27:1


The fear of man brings a snare,
But whoever trusts in the Lord will be safe.
Prov. 29:25


For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:
Do not say, 'A conspiracy,'
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy.
Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.
The Lord of Hosts, HIM shall you hallow.
Let Him be your fear,
Let Him be your dread.
He will be as a sanctuary...
Isaiah 8:11-14a


Strengthen the weak hands
And make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are fearful hearted,
"Be strong! Do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
With the recompense of God.
He will come and save you."
Isaiah 35:3-4


Do not fear, therefore...
Matt. 10:28


Do not fear, little flock...
Luke 12:32


God has not given us a spirit of fear...
2 Tim 1:7


Love casts out all fear...
I John 1:8


Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer..."
Rev. 2:10


Do you suppose... God is for us, His children?
Then who can be against us?

Do you suppose... He has plans for those of us who love Him?
That they are plans to prosper us, and not to harm us?

Me, I'm not strong enough to do much more than whisper, "I need you," at the end of the day, as the song goes. Sometimes it's even hard to suppose in the right direction. Keeping a quiet heart requires the excercising of faith muscles, and mine are admittedly weak.

But even so, Scripture is clear, and there is a choice to be made. I'm choosing to believe today.

What about you?
What do you suppose?