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6,857,000,000 Reasons Why

July 20, 2010

"He whose walk is upright fears the LORD, but he whose ways are devious despises Him." (NIV)

Put another way

"An honest life shows respect for GOD; a degenerate life is a slap in His face." (MSG)

There are billions of people in the world; 6,857,000,000-ish. Looking at Proverbs 14:2 (in the Bible) today, the first thing that crossed my mind was, why does God take my actions so personally? If I am choosing to be a deviant, there are roughly 6,856,999,999 alternatives.

Looking to the left, let’s say I was a total Athiest and had absolutely no regard for, no interest in, not even a passing thought that God is real and has a personal interest in me. So what? What’s one or even a million Athiests to God? Let them live their life believing this is all there is and in the end, the end. So what if they go about their life explaining everything their way and not glancing up, not even once; it isn’t like God needs them and apparently they don’t need Him either. They ask nothing, they would get nothing (except vicariously, benefiting from other’s faith systems that keep the world in check). Let’s even half the population, that still gives God a lot of material to work with: 3,428,500,000.

Moving to more middle-ground, so what if there are a pile of people who loosely believe there is a heaven and hell and live more like the latter? So what if they pay God a visit only twice a year, but use His name more regularly to vent off assorted frustrations? So what if they have a cocktail of beliefs which conflict more than they agree? Let’s say that gives God only one-quarter of the earth’s people who will return His affection. That’s still 1,714,250,000; but who’s counting?

Jesus wanted us to know something: God counts. Trying to help us understand the nature of God, Jesus painted a word picture for us:

"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." (Matthew 18: 12-14)

This passage is only one of many that describe the lengths to which God will go to save even one little person (check out Luke 15 for a series of stories, for example). What a waste of time, hey? I mean why go after someone who’s like, “Why are you following me, get lost.”

While it is true that God’s image is stamped on me, I have to remember that my image is not stamped on God. I let relationships go when it seems they have run their course; God doesn’t. God doesn’t twist any arms, that’s true; but He keeps showing up at the door:

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)

So, back to Proverbs. First of all, it would be good to just look at what kind of person is being described in that verse. This person has or is “departing” or “turning aside” from the good standard God set for all of creation. Something is “going wrong” in them and they are following a “crooked” path; if they continue down the course they are tracking, they will be “lost from view.”

Why does this matter so much to God. Honestly, there are so many people. Will God even remember me if I fall away?

"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." (Luke 12:6-7)

I can’t explain why I, why you, matter so much to God; why He counts and checks and re-checks. I don’t know why He wants me to have an abundant life. I don’t know why He wants to fill our hearts with faith and hope and love and joy. I don’t know why He wants to walk with us through every single trial we encounter and strengthen us. But God sets a table before us…this reminds me…

Years ago, we went on a cruise as a family. Of course, the highlight is the food. So each night we would sit down to a feast: steak, lobster, creme-brule! It was a wonder! Every night, Nathan ordered a hot-dog; I’m not kidding. The Server was so dismayed; had Nathan looked at the menu? Didn’t the thought of freshly made crab cakes make his mouth water? I can’t imagine how insulting that must have been for the chef!

It’s a weak comparison, but I think my off choices must feel like that to God. I could be living an astounding life if only I would follow the recommendations of the Mind behind it all; but no, I choose scraps of things, pressed together, and call it a life. That’s a slap in the face. It doesn’t matter that I am only one person, if I am a person that God created. I mean what work of art doesn’t matter to the artist. Every one reminds Him of a time and a place and a thought and an inspiration.

God literally slaved over us (Philippians 2:7–9 says He, “made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!) so yeah, our response to His extreme measures matter just a little bit.

I matter, you matter; 6,857,000,000 people matter, so much so that God pursues us in earnest and calls out to us, “Today, when you hear My voice, do not harden your heart…” (Hebrews 3:15).

—Teresa Klassen (http://www.onebrownleaf.wordpress.com)

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Fear. And The God Who Pulls Us Back.

July 4, 2010

Just digesting Matt’s message today on Proverbs 1:7

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

I found myself asking the question, “Do I fear God?” Matt was saying that there is fear, in terms of respect, but there is also the “terrifying” aspect to God that we have either avoided or misunderstood.

Sometimes I dream of things, events, that run very contrary to my life. For example, I will dream that I have done something that I am horrified about. I love my husband Mike as much as I can love another human being, in my dreams this is true as well; but I have dreamed that I have betrayed the sacred bond of our friendship and the moment I have I am filled with terror over what I have done and I can see the road ahead; it is broken and sad beyond words. I see in Mike’s face everything I never want to see; I see the thing I have done to him. Why, I ask myself, why did I do that?

In real life I am pretty good-natured, but I have dreamed that I have committed a horrible crime; the second I realize that I have stepped over “that line” I am filled with terror over what I have done and all the ramifications of that choice.

When I wake up, all I feel is relief. The terror in the dream was so real, I might as well have done it; but I didn’t and I am so thankful for my real world.

When I think about fear and God, I think about what I have and I think about all I “have to lose.” I think about life without God and I see a vast emptiness that terrifies me. I think of that aloneness. I think of that separation and I can’t get my mind around it. I think of carrying all that I am, the darkness that is my only alternative to living forgiven, and I cannot fathom that. With God, I can imagine being without Him. I see what it is like around me and I think of myself living that way.

I look at God and know I don’t deserve Him. I know that He does not need me, as if I can do some sort of service to convince Him that I am worth keeping in His circle. I see my “good deeds” and think they are works of art, but realize, in the presence of God’s majesty, they are scribbles of crayon; as if He is impressed.

God is not my neighbor. He is not next door to me, like some equal I can visit or ignore. In God’s presence, I am self-aware. I see what the Bible describes as “filthy rags” my sin and my attempts to not appear to be sinful. The fear of God’s perfection is exactly that. I can’t stand before Him and grin about my mistakes, kid around and say, “look what I did.” God has every right to say, “look at the mess you have made!” and turn His face from me.

But I liked what Matt said this morning, the God that we “fear” has the power to save. We have all fallen off a cliff, but mid-air, without doing anything to merit such a rescue, God (out of love) pulls us back. The God who has every right to judge us, which ought to terrify us, holds us and keeps us from destruction because of a love we don’t even have a word for.

I liked the question Matt posed, “are we uncomfortable in his grip?” We hold our children’s hands tightly when something feels precarious, and so does God. We are in a precarious position, so God gives us the desire for God (interesting to think about). In this desire we see how perilously close we came to a lost eternity and this fear drives us towards Him, not away; and He holds us tight within boundaries for our own good.

Ecclesiastes concludes that our whole life’s purpose is to fear God and keep His commands. Yes, I get that. If I keep a healthy fear, if I long to follow God’s ways, I will see His salvation at work in me.

As a parent, I also live in “fear” —don’t get me wrong about the word, I don’t mean worry or anxiety—I mean “absolute seriousness”...I feel dead serious about all of this for my children. I realize they are testing their faith and feeling the constraints of God’s grip and deciding whether they will remain in Him. I get this; and it terrifies me at the same time. Not one thing matters more to me except that they will respond to God, fear Him, follow Him with passion. I want them to understand their precarious position as well and feel the grip of His hand on them, keeping them from falling.

God, may it be so.

—Teresa Klassen (http://onebrownleaf.wordpress.com/)

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