Our Father's Dilemma

Announcements:

·         THERE WILL BE NO POTLUCK THIS SUNDAY!

Updates:

·         Shirley is doing well after her surgery. Thank God that she was not hurt worse and that she was able to have her shoulder pinned instead of replaced. Shirley is such a gift to all of us. Let’s not take her for granted; please encourage her with an uplifting card!

·         Kyle Kirkland is still in the hospital, but may be able to come home on July 15. Please keep praying for his total recovery.

Praise Reports:

·         The doctors say that Carla Bowers’ terminal lung cancer was a misdiagnosis! They aren’t yet sure what is wrong with her, but praise the Lord for this miracle reversal.

·         Brenna is back with her grandparents for the summer!

·         Cameron is finished with his 8 week leadership college course and now has a part-time job at a computer-programming company!

·         Clara’s voice/piano recital went very well.

·         The Wonder Tour was successful and the kids got a lot of things done and had fun down in the park.

Prayer Requests:

·         Amos (a friend of Sandra’s) is in need of prayer, and please intercede on behalf of her son John: may God make level paths for his feet.

·         Frank Sims, who passed away last year, had a father who died last Saturday. Please pray for his family.

·         Keep June’s stepdaughter, Lisa, in your prayers.

·         Keep Rita and Charlotte, Byron, and Pam in prayer.

·         Mary is still in a lot of pain.

·         Pray traveling mercies for Rebecca Schmid as she comes here, and for Dwayne’s nephew who is coming here as well.

·         Remember Dixie’s widower, Gary, as he deals with his father’s diagnosis of cancer.

·         The Rogers family is waiting for the final word on some cleaning bids they have made. Pray that God’s will be done in the growth of their business.

·         Vivian returned safely from visiting her family in Tennessee.

Slum-side Smile, a photo by Meanest Indian on Flickr.

There seems to be a disconnect between the God of wrath in the Old Testament and the God of love as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ (seen me, seen Father). How can these two portrayals be reconciled? The skeptical world is aware of the strange difference between the two personalities of God: one who would destroy an entire nation, and one who would protect a single adulteress from stoning. Skeptics say that we can’t have a God who is all-powerful and all-loving, and there may in fact be a thread of truth in that.

It’s hard to argue with Hitler and the situation in Sudan: our Father is not always cuddly and warm, letting us off the hook and making everything peachy-keen. But when you think about it, what choice does he have? God has a very hard task as the Master of the Universe.

Adam and Eve let the knowledge of good and evil into the world and, not to put too fine a point on it, messed everything up.  God has to be who he is: perfect, righteous, and just, yet loving, and merciful. In Matthew 21:33-40 Jesus told a parable about the wickedness of men and God’s dealings with them. In personal terms, God is like a father who sees one of his children mistreating another (Alicia and Jim). His heart is love, but the manner in which he communicates his love to both must vary. In order to show love to Alicia (the victim) he must punish Jim (the guilty party). What will the child who was saved think of her father? She will see him as a blessed savior! What will the child who was punished think of his father? He will see him as a cruel disciplinarian! The father had a loving heart toward both children, but it looked very different to each of them.

This is the fix that our Father is in. God is trying to show his heart of love in the midst of a sinful world. The wrath of God is present, directly and indirectly, everywhere. But do we see it in Jesus?

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

-Hebrews 1:1-3a

Jesus is God’s heart toward us; this is how God would act toward us all the time in a perfect world. He would rather suffer to show his love and mercy than execute judgment on us. If Alicia and Jim did not fight, their father could show kindness to both of them. However, in this world God is not at liberty to show his love like this—our sin must be punished.

Let’s back up and listen to our skeptical friend who says that our God cannot be all-loving and all-powerful. Perhaps they will say, “You tell me that God is omniscient, so he knew that Adam and Eve would eat from the tree of knowledge. Why did he put them in that circumstance if he knew the outcome?” It’s true: if we say that God is sovereign then we must admit that he is ultimately responsible for the mess that this world is in. He could have created humans to be robots, but instead gave us freedom to choose evil. The heart of love seeks an object.

So you can tell your critical friend to put God on trial. See what happens if you convict him: say that God is guilty and deserves the worst punishment possible. Execution. Guess what, it’s already been done! Jesus died one of the worst deaths imaginable. He willingly took the responsibility for sin upon himself—and that was how he chose to show love. It was like a parent taking a bullet for their child.

We can see God as a cruel disciplinarian, or we can see him as a benevolent father.

He is the same God: love and righteousness in one.