Lucy and Aslan
I suppose I'm posting on too serious of subjects to get any responses. Or perhaps no one is reading. That may be for the best. I wouldn't know which was happening since I'm not very blog savvy. I don't know how to get a count on those sort of things as some people seem to have.
Well, without any sign of letting up, here is another hard thing to ponder. I meant to mention this the other day but forgot.
Here is the issue: God is not a respecter of man. He has, does and will move in ways we would neither expect or imagine in order to bring glory to His name. And as my dear C.S. Lewis said so beautifully concerning Jesus, "'Safe?' said Mr. Beaver...'Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. but he's good. He's the King, I tell you.'"
The reason I bring this up is that I pose to you, how far would God go to get the attention of one man? Just one man that God is calling out to. One man that God is offering a choice to, of belief in Him for eternity, or eternal regret. Well, think what you want. But you'll have a hard time convincing me to alter my belief concerning the events of two weeks ago. So here it is: two weekends past, five people died. Three in one automobile accident. The other two in as many separate and unrelated incidents. Five people. Nothing would connect them except that they were all the friends of one man here at Fort Benning. He's been exploring the claims and observing the lives of Christians while here. He's been seeking an answer to the question, "who is God?" And it seems as though God has given an answer. What kind of an answer? Why this? Why five people? For this one man? It seems so.
We all then must hold on to our lives very lightly. God is not a safe Lion. He is not always a gentle Lamb. But He is good.
Well, without any sign of letting up, here is another hard thing to ponder. I meant to mention this the other day but forgot.
Here is the issue: God is not a respecter of man. He has, does and will move in ways we would neither expect or imagine in order to bring glory to His name. And as my dear C.S. Lewis said so beautifully concerning Jesus, "'Safe?' said Mr. Beaver...'Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. but he's good. He's the King, I tell you.'"
The reason I bring this up is that I pose to you, how far would God go to get the attention of one man? Just one man that God is calling out to. One man that God is offering a choice to, of belief in Him for eternity, or eternal regret. Well, think what you want. But you'll have a hard time convincing me to alter my belief concerning the events of two weeks ago. So here it is: two weekends past, five people died. Three in one automobile accident. The other two in as many separate and unrelated incidents. Five people. Nothing would connect them except that they were all the friends of one man here at Fort Benning. He's been exploring the claims and observing the lives of Christians while here. He's been seeking an answer to the question, "who is God?" And it seems as though God has given an answer. What kind of an answer? Why this? Why five people? For this one man? It seems so.
We all then must hold on to our lives very lightly. God is not a safe Lion. He is not always a gentle Lamb. But He is good.
posted by Brett at 8:21 PM
4 Comments:
Hey, if you want a get a count...you can get a program from statcounter.com and put the code on your web page and it'll keep track of how many people are coming to your site, where from, etc.
I like it a lot.
Also...it's funny the passage you chose since I used that to teach youth group last November & to share about Christ to one of my students at school.
How far would God go to get the attention of one man? Not to sound trite, but I think that God has 'gone the distance'to get the attention and affections of His entire creation; a complete offering of revlation of Himself through Christ's death and the Holy Spirit's power to reveal that truth to man constantly. And I def. agree, these ways are generally unexpected and unimaginable.
Though, I think it is a bold thought to think God has any 1 event or series events to happen for only 1 reason of showing Himself to 1 man or woman, especially in tragedy. It just seems that through reading Scripture, God's plans and purposes in our linear view of time extend beyond impacting a single person. Even when Jesus would heal and tell the diciples not to tell, word spread of who He was. So I think God has events to happen in our lives to reveal Himself, and probably to many people, in different ways, at the same time.
"But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being." -Romans 1: 19-20 The Message
You are right. Absolutely. I do not disagree with anything you said. And you are right to rebuke me. I did not go as far as to make mention of any other possibility. I was merely pointing out the obvious: these deaths are not a coincidence or unforseen accident to God. I do not think God is using the death of five people in one man's life only, and none others.
But the only piece of that puzzle I can see revolves around that one man. That is probably the most I will ever know. I can trust, because He says so, that He will use it for the best in the lives of many. But again, all I SEE is five (suddenly) dead people all connected to one man and he is asking the question "who is God?"
A lot of this really falls back to the whole "why do bad things happen?" question. And I'm learning that a lot of that will be debated continually. It brings up a lot of questions. Five people dying to get the attention of one guy? That may be the result, but was that the reason? We know that death and disease can be traced back to a man, a woman, an apple, a tree and the fall. So there's this sin problem we all have to live with now. God could stop it, but we now live with the consequences of our sin and others' sin.
But you've already mentioned you understand that :). I think the important verse in this discussion is this: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 seems to apply more to Christians...those seeking God already. But God also uses circumstances to draw people to himself. So in a lot of ways, you're seeing the results and attributing a cause.
All right, that's all. I hope things are going well for you, man. I found your blog via kim's and had to jump in...
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