Interviewed by the Ignorant, Part 1

“Which is it? Either God is all-powerful, but He doesn’t care about the people of Japan, and therefore they are suffering. Or, Does He care, but He is not all- powerful?”

This is a question asked of Rob Bell by Martin Bashir on MSNBC. All Rob Bell had to say was this is a paradox that is better left alone. My next six posts will be my response to this question.   

To begin with, just asking that question betrays any true knowledge of God. Anyone who truly knows God would never ask such a question. This question is nothing but an attempt to have God painted in a bad light. Nevertheless, biblically there are several things that can be said in response.

1. God’s purposes and plans are beyond human comprehension.

Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

For those who are finite in understanding, and finite in wisdom, and finite in knowledge to question the One who is infinite in understanding, and infinite in wisdom, and infinite in knowledge is foolish. You are saying that God must either be limited in power or uncaring. That is making an assumption based on very limited information. Imagine all you could possibly know is a letter in a book. You may know the letter, but only God knows the word that letter is a part of, the sentence that word is a part of, the paragraph that sentence is a part of, the page that paragraph is the part of, and the book that page is a part of. You cannot be critical of the Author of the book when all your knowledge is limited to one letter. You don’t know enough about God, His ways, or His purposes to accuse Him. Romans 11:33-34, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgmets and how inscrutable His ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?" Who are you to scrutinize the actions of Him who is inscrutable? You cannot even begin to fathom why God does all that He does. And that leaves you in no place to make foolish assumptions about God or His character.  

A Prayer

Lord Jesus, may Your beauty increase in my sight until You are all I see. May the fragrance of Your knowledge so captivate me that all other aromas fade out of recognition. May Your goodness grow ever sweeter to my taste until I hunger for nothing but You. May Your voice ring ever louder and ever clearer in my ears until all other sounds are drowned out by the roar of Your truth. May Your divine hand upon my life be more real to me than the touch of even my dearest loved ones.

May every step I take bring me closer to You. May every word I say exalt Your magnificence. May every task my hands undertake be by Your design, through Your strength, and for Your fame. May every conscious thought reflect Your unparalleled greatness.

May Your Holy Word be my most prized possession. May Your Holy name be the only banner under which I march. May Your Holy presence be that which I most long for.

 May every breath I take be in service of the Crucified King. May every beat of my heart be out of love for the God who robed Himself in flesh and died in my place.

 May You always have the best of me, and not what's left of me.