The God I Believe In

I have a friend who has shared with me that she has problems with the number of us preachers who make reference to "the God we believe in" as if there is more than one God. And she has a valid point.

However, I had an experience this week which made me reflect yet again on the importance of defining "The God we believe in." Even among those of us who believe in The One God--the Abrahamic God of Scripture--we find a significant variation in the character of that God. So while we agree that there is One God, we disagree on who that God really is. What is God like? Does God change? Is God loving or is God angry? Both? Loving to some while angry at others? Mad at us all? Is this a God who sits on high and judges? Or a God who enters into our world and acts on our behalf? You could go on and on with the questions.

I actually preached a sermon in the traditional service about this issue last summer. But Wednesday, I had an experience which brought it home dramatically to me.

Now I've been officiating at funerals now for over 9 years. Before I went into the ministry, I worried about my ability to perform a funeral because it seemed so difficult. Then a pastor friend took me to a funeral (of another Christian tradition) that was so BAD that I knew I might not do a great job but I could do better than that! The service had nothing to do with the deceased but had everything to do with trying to convert the crowd. Now, I do believe that one of the greatest evangelism opportunities for pastors is a funeral. We touch the lives of more unchurched folks there then anywhere else (with the exception of weddings!). WE have the opportunity to be the church for them by being present in one of the darkest moments of their lives. And we can assure them not only of the gift of life beyond this one but the promise that the God that raises the dead can also bring new meaning to their lives NOW! But I've never felt it was the appropriate time for an altar call.

On Wednesday, I was asked to perform a Methodist memorial service for a 99 year old woman who had lived most of her life as a Christian Scientist. I felt it was important to acknowledge that fact and I did a quick internet search of Christian Scientists since I know nothing about them except they aren't fond of doctors. I did discover that they do believe in Christ (not an orthodox belief but a belief) and that they believe there is something beyond this life (actually apparently they believe this life is an illusion and so is death -- once again not an orthodox belief but a belief). So in my sermon, I made mention of her faith and what it held in common with ours. Since it was near All Saints, I talked about being surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses and her presence in that cloud. I also mentioned that the family could take comfort in knowing that she was in the care of a loving God.

After the service, one of the family members came into the office and he was mad. He said he wanted to give me a quick lesson on Christian Scientists. "No Christ. No Science" and said he felt I had mislead the family by saying she was in the hands of a loving God. Where did I find that in Scripture?

Now this family member is from out of town and I doubt that he will be back for me to show him the Biblical justification for what I believe. But it reminded me that it really does matter what we believe about God. You see, I believe that the final judgment of what happens to us eternally is in God's hands. In fact, Jesus will do the judging. The one who died for us will be the one who decides our fate. That seems appropriate to me and personally I'm glad I don't have the job! And everytime I do a funeral I make some assumptions, because no matter how good or bad they may have acted I don't know what their relationship with God was really like. Nor do I know what may have happened between them and God in their final moments or days. In this instance, I was at the hospital a couple of hours before she died and I prayed that if there was any unfinished business between her and God that it be resolved. And from what I know about death physiologically and spiritually, there is a lot of room for God to work even when the person seems unresponsive to us.

I also believe (and her my visitor and others may disagree with me but this is what I believe) that Jesus will not judge us on our doctrine. Everything I read in Scripture indicates we will be judged on the way we lived our lives and none of us will score high enough on that exam to gain entrance to heaven --that is a gift from God. No I'm not a universalist--but that is a discussion for another day. I don't believe everyone will be in heaven, but I think God makes those distinctions not us and I don't think we will be judged on right doctrine but rather on right relationship.

But I think the most important distinction between my visitor's belief and mine had to do with the character of the God we believe in. Scripturally, I don't think anyone can argue that those who die go into God's care. Even if you believe they are going to be condemned to hell, they still have to stand before God. So the question is who is The God they will stand before. I believe they will stand before a God whose primary characteristic is love. Now that doesn't mean that he won't judge folks because love does make judgments. A loving God must judge those who hurt others. A loving God must say that sin is sin because sin hurt and kills. It is a false dichotomy to say that a loving God won't judge or a God who judges isn't loving. Nonetheless, the God I believe in is a loving God and in that case all who die are in the care of a loving God. I think that is the gospel--the good news of Jesus Christ--and that is something I will not cease to preach and to shout to the world!

Is God Fair?

(Disclaimer: I have permission to share the following!) Yesterday, I received an e-mail from someone who is struggling with faith in God. The e-mail asked the following question:

i really am not sure where i am with God. well as you know that is not anything new but my thoughts are. so here it is--is God fair--at least to Mary---and maybe to us all---God tells Mary a virgin that she is preg.--and that he is the father..embrassing to tell friends as they think it is Joseph--not fair to Joseph--he had not even been with her but he takes the fall, they haveto leave and at times run for thier lives, they have the perfect son who tells them so when he is left behind and they are worried and could you image being the perfect one"s sister? and then joseph is killed off somehow and mary is left alone and then she has to see her son killed the way he was--as no one else would ever be--and to be innocent and to be left in the world alone. was God fair to her? it seems that she paid a hugh cost to bare his son... maybe i am on my way to hell for thinking this way--i do not know. i do know i do not understand my God. I know no one does and maybe that is my problem and always has been. i try and place everything in black and white ( how i wish i had never been baptist!) but i feel if God loved Mary so little as to put that on her how can he said that he loves me like a father loves his child? does a father not want to take away the pain not cause more? am i just too much in my head again? i feel my life is not where it should be--i see the wrong going on around me--i am trying so hard to do what i think is the right thing to do and yes in my l. world i want justice! don't we all? and yes i will except my justice--just give me the punishment and let me get it over with. i never thought i would ever been where i am tonight--questioning my God, my faith ( whatever is left of it) and not really knowing me.

I think the writer asks a very good question--Is God fair? And is fairness the same as justice?
Here is my response:

Well, let me first share that you aren’t anywhere that most Christians with any strength to their faith have not been at one time or another. There is a whole segment of theology called ‘theodicy” that asks these very questions—Not just why do bad things happen to good people but also what does it mean to say God is loving and just in light of this world we live in. These are good questions to ask and they have everything to do with the character of God. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers to these questions.
Personally, I don’t think God is fair. The Bible doesn’t even make that claim. In fact, I honestly don’t know what “fair” is or what it would look like. When my kids complain that something isn’t “fair,’ it generally means something didn’t happen the way they thought it should happen. Sometimes it is because no everybody is treated the same (despite circumstances) and other times it is because people are not treated differently. But the Bible is pretty clear that God is not fair in the way we think of fairness. Just read Jesus’ parables—the parable of the talents (is it fair that one gets 10, one 5, one only 1, and we can presume many without any at all?), the parable of the wages where those that work all day get the same pay as those who show up at the end of the day, etc. Actually, Jesus’ parables generally focus on something that isn’t fair to conventional wisdom.
But the Bible does promise that God is loving and just.
Which gets us to your questions about Mary and Joseph. I can’t answer for your heart, but I can share what I see in that story. First, I believe both mary and Joseph made choices. Mary said, “Let it be.” And Joseph didn’t say much but he responded in obedience and broke all the rules in marrying Mary and raising Jesus. Was it fair what God asked? No. Was it just and loving? Well, if we just look at Mary and Joseph, perhaps not. But when we look at the world—the bigger picture—then it definitely was.
What God clearly asks is for us to be willing to sacrifice—to endure pain and suffering—for the sake of others. And where the fairness comes in is that he doesn’t ask anything of us that he wasn’t willing to do himself. Mary and Joseph’s sacrifices were nothing compared to Jesus’!
I read a quote today that was so appropriate to this conversation. Dorothy Sayers said, “Whatever game [God] is playing with His creation, He has kept His own rules and played fair. He can exact nothing from man that He has not exacted from Himself.”

What do you think--Is God fair? Is God just? Is there a difference?