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Our Good and Loving Father

Our Good and Loving Father

          Our God is a good and loving Father. Some of the most deeply held tenants of Christianity are:

·         God is good

·         God is loving

·         God is all-powerful

·         God is all-knowing

But do you believe it? Do you? Really? Don’t be too quick to answer because your true beliefs are betrayed by what you do. So I ask you again, do you believe that God is a good, loving, omniscient, omnipotent Father? Let's take a closer look to find out.

"Consider the lilies of the field, they do not toil; neither do they spin, yet I tell you that Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these."

"Which of you when your son asks you for bread gives him a stone? If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your Father who is in Heaven?"

          How many times have we read those verses casually without dwelling on the full depth of their meaning? We get our warm fuzzy feeling and then move quickly on. But have you ever stopped to think about what those verses imply? Think about it. The first selection says that God takes care of a flower - a FLOWER!  Granted, a very beautiful flower, but still just a flower.  It doesn't have to work or spend all day searching for food and water.   God takes care of all of its needs automatically every single day of its short life.  Are you not more precious to God than this flower? But that's not all. The second selection says that I am evil and yet I know better than to give my son a rock for breakfast.  Why, then, do we treat God like he doesn't know better?  Still don't think I'm talking about you?  I know I'm talking about me. 

          God has dressed this plant more beautifully than the richest king in Jewish history on his best day.  Not only that, but he sees to its daily needs without any active, searching work by the plant. It didn't and doesn't have to do anything to get these things; they are all free and automatic gifts from God. And yet, we are more precious to God (obviously) than these plants.  Does it not follow, therefore, that God would expend even more effort to provide for us? Or, which parent do you know (that tries to be a good parent) who fails to provide the needs of his or her children to the best of his or her ability - without the child ever asking for anything? And yet we are constantly whining our prayers to God announcing our problems to Him like He doesn't even know about them, begging Him for deliverance from the circumstances he has purposed for our lives. Let that soak in a moment. God has a purpose for you (or others) in your current "problem" circumstances. Who are you to be asking (begging) God for a way out of those very purposeful circumstances?

          Too many people; Christians and non-Christians alike, start with their troubling circumstances and try to work their way to God. But they can't, at least not and be consistent in their beliefs. There are just too many troubles, too severe of problems in the world to try reason your way to God with them as the starting point. They end up with questions like, "How can there be a loving God with all this suffering in the world?" They reason - as most Christian's actions imply - that either God is asleep, not all-knowing, not all-powerful or not loving. And, if you accept your circumstances as the starting point/foundation, I agree that that conclusion is inescapable. I, however, do NOT accept that starting point at all and neither should you. They start with their circumstances and try to work their way to God when they should be starting with God and working their way to their circumstances. They start with their limited perspectives instead of with the infinite God. The problem comes in traveling in the wrong direction!

          So let's start with God. Who is He?  Well, we started with that. He is our Good Father, omnipotent, omniscient, and loving.  Clearly, he’s more than that, but that’s the subject of a whole series of books, so let’s just work with this limited set for now.  God cares more for us than the most beautiful plant, which he cares for without the plant begging him incessantly for anything at all. Ever. We are evil and even us evil fathers know how to provide automatically for the needs of our children. And God is good, so that means – with all the resources at his disposal (all-powerful and all-knowing) – he does the same thing for us, only better.  OK. That’s the starting point, our accepted, foundational truth.  Now let’s work our way to our circumstances.

          Most, if not all, people – Christians included – end up suffering in some way during their lives or facing trouble or hardship of one form or other.  How then do we reconcile our foundational truth of a good, loving, omnipotent, omniscient Father with these circumstances?  Remember, since we’re starting with the nature of God, our foundation cannot shift; we are taking as irrefutable the nature of God.  As a good Father, he is ALWAYS about the business of caring for our needs AUTOMATICALLY, in ways far exceeding the manner in which he cares for the labor-less plants.  But our suffering, hardship and troubles are in direct conflict with God satisfying our needs, are they not?  In fact, I would argue that they are not.  Indeed, I would argue the exact opposite: they are integral to God satisfying our need; He could not satisfy our need without them.  That means that God must have a very different view of our needs than we do, and He absolutely does!

          Even more than suggesting that suffering, hardship and trouble are integral to God satisfying our need, I would further argue that they are, in fact, the most loving gift that He could possibly give us.  That sounds crazy to human wisdom, but I assure you that it is the deepest truth I have encountered so far in my short stay on this Earth. The problem is we, in our arrogance, assume that we know enough to make an informed decision about what is good for us.  We most certainly do not.  Am I saying that even things like cancer are the most loving gifts that God could possibly have given?  Brace yourself, because my answer is an unwavering, “Yes!”  Now, don’t go and ask me how, because I don’t know any more than you do.  I am standing on the same road you are; I’m just traveling in the other direction.  I simply don’t know how it is the best course, nor how it benefited or whom it benefited.  All I know is that it is an irrefutable, foundational truth that God is a good and loving Father.  The truth is, I don’t need to know, either. All I need to know is that God is a good and loving Father, Giver of every good and perfect gift, far exceeding my evil capacity to automatically provide for the needs of my children.  Indeed, we, the clay, should not expect to understand every move that the Master Potter makes.  That’s just plain silly.  How could the finite possibly encompass the Infinite?

          But what possible need could we have that would be consistent with suffering, hardship and trouble?  I submit to you that we have but one need in the eyes of our Lord and Master.  We need to be more like Jesus; we need to have His Image (that we were created for) restored in us and to commune with Him.  Pause a moment to soak that in.  Look back on your life from this perspective and see with new eyes the way that God has never wavered from targeting this goal in your life.  Since the Garden of Eden, he has sought nothing else.  It is why Jesus, the Son of God, came to Earth to die for us: to restore in us His blessed Image.

          Understand that this perspective changes everything.

          Should I thank God for the suffering then? Most pastors I've heard that dared to breach this topic say, "No, you thank God through (in spite of) the circumstances.” I disagree. We should thank God for the trying circumstance because as James says in chapter 1 "the testing of our faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything"...in short, so that we may be made into the Image of Christ. The unpleasant things are here to satisfy either our need or the need of another. No exceptions. So, yes, do thank Him; thank Him for continually working to restore that Image, for lovingly satisfying our one and only need.

          Are you beginning to see the wondrous freedom and peace that this brings? No longer do you need to fret about bringing all of your "needs" to the Lord.  Oh, there's nothing wrong with that; it's simply not necessary.  The omnipotent and loving Father already knows, AND he knows more about it than you do.  You are already deeply set into the Palm of his loving and caring Hand. You no longer need to worry about your finances, food or shelter.  Will God care less for you than he does for a plant?  All you need to concern yourself with is the very thing that concerns Him: becoming more like Jesus. The only question needing an answer and diligent prayer is, "How is the current circumstance working to restore the Image of our Lord in me or those around me?"  We have just sloughed off 98% of the concerns of our daily lives, and all of what concerns the world around us.  Because of the nature of God we are free to concern ourselves only with becoming like Jesus.

          Understand that I am talking to Christians about Christians. I'm NOT saying don't pray nor that you shouldn't pray. You should. However, the nature of prayer has changed from being centered around me and us to Him and non-believers. Indeed, I would argue that this is necessarily implied by the mandate to become like Jesus. Who was he concerned with?  For whom did he pray? “To seek and to save those that are lost.”

          Does that mean that we should sell our car and home, leave our families and join a monastery/nunnery?  I don't think so.  This truth doesn't compel us to change our circumstances, but rather to accept our circumstances and redirect our attention and effort to the restoration of the Image of God in us. God will take care of you; he already is. This is, in fact, how Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane was framed. Even under the most trying of circumstances (his impending, humiliating death on a criminal's cross), his response was "not my will, but Thine, be done."

          Need some examples of God's un-obvious care for his children?  Let's look at my favorite character in the Old Testament: Joseph.  There was a man who seemingly had no faults, besides a lack of the common sense to not repeatedly flaunt his being his father's favorite to his older brothers.  And perhaps we can forgive him for this youthful error.  Yet, what happened to him?  He was thrown into a well - fortunately a dry one - by his envious brothers, and got to enjoy the pleasure of listening to them talk about killing him. Then they sold him like a foreigner to foreigners as a slave. He ends up in Egypt as a slave to Potiphar. He works hard and wisely for him, ending up running his whole household. But Potiphar's wife tries to do the forbidden and sleep with Joseph, but he does the right thing and refuses. So what is his reward? He is falsely accused and thrown into prison to be forgotten. And be was forgotten by Potiphar. Did Joseph complain or beg God for rescue? Not that was recorded in Genesis.

          Was that the end of it? Nope. While in prison, Joseph advises a couple of the king's servants by interpreting their dreams. They promise to remember him to the king. Do they? They get set free - except for the guy who is executed as foretold by Joseph - and Joseph is left to continue rotting in prison, once again forgotten. But God’s plan is still at work in his life – as it was from the moment of Joseph’s first dream as a teen. And it’s about to be revealed.  The king has a frightening dream that none of his advisers or magicians can unravel. The King frantically sends out a call to everyone for someone to interpret his dream.  Only then does the Cupbearer remember Joseph and tells the king about him.  You know the rest of the story.  Joseph correctly tells him what it means and is made second in command of all of Egypt.  Follow his path:

Favorite son ==>Near-death experience ==>Slavery ==>Prison ==>Ruler of Egypt ==>Savior of at least 2 entire nations (Egypt & Israel)

Who would have thought his being sold into slavery would lead to God saving 2 whole nations from a brutal famine?  Who?  God, that’s who. It was His plan all along.  As Joseph put it, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”  Joseph never for an instant left the loving and caring hand of God.

          You could be in a Joseph circumstance right now. How do you know that what is happening to you isn’t part of some massive plan of salvation?  Maybe even for the nation.  Maybe just for your church.  Maybe just for you. But I guarantee you that the evil that others intend, God intends for good.  You could be a contemporary Joseph. Who’s to say what God’s plan holds for you around the next blind corner or in the next 5 or 10 years?  I don’t know, but He does.

          Need a more current example?  Take my life, as living proof of God working his purpose by any and all means necessary. I grew up with every advantage a person could ask for, being raised in a Christian home by Christian parents to become a Christian myself at the age of 5. I married a “Christian” woman at the age of 23. We had 2 kids.  I’ve always gone to church. But about 5 years ago, things began to go awry.  A distance began to grow between me and the woman I had planned to grow old with.  She began to change into a different person that I couldn’t recognize.  Troubles began at work with an irrational company and manager and an employee (me) that was becoming increasingly bitter and resentful after 5 years of progressing scales of not being treated like a person. My wife started spending a lot of time with our male next-door neighbor.           The marriage descended to the point where I would get home and she would immediately leave and not come home until after I was asleep. Near the very end, I told her not to get me a present for Christmas and that instead all I wanted was an hour of her (dedicated) time.  I never received a response. How could I repair a marriage to which I was now the only active party? The inevitable happened when we were divorced on December 28, 2004. At the same time, things at work were also getting worse.  Eventually, they ended with me being called down to the front desk and being told that these were my last moments of employment. I was told that my last check of a week ago (that I had already nearly spent on bills) would be my last and that I was owed no vacation time.

          Now I was penniless and alone with two sons, a mortgage and a car payment.  Mix in there a small fire in my kids' room. Time to panic, right?  I won’t lie to you, I panicked. Big time. But all of this was just part of the plan, the way God satisfied my one true need. He stripped away all of my obvious, external (and temporary) shelters to show me who was my real Shelter.

          What happened? It turned out that not only was I owed vacation time, but also some regular time as well. Between that and some company stock options, I had enough money to maintain my standard of living until I got a replacement job 3 months later, a job that I was awarded precisely when the money was running out. And the kid's room? I had enough paint left over from the previous year’s remodeling to completely repaint their walls and ceiling. And because I was unemployed, I had the time to do the job! Now, I'm still divorced, and my ex-wife still lives next door with her boyfriend, but I'm learning to acquiesce and accept whatever God sends my way. I'll also tell you that the divorce has definitely made me a better, godlier man and father.

          She and my former employer may have meant it for evil, but God meant it for good - a good that I don't think He's quite done revealing to me yet. I was always - ALWAYS - in the palm of his Hand. God never wavered from his goal of restoring the lmage in me, and was - and always will be - willing to cast aside whatever gets in the way of that goal. (Be careful what you let get in the way of God’s goal in your life, unless you are ready to lose it.)

          So, what shall we say about the so-called “trials” in Joseph’s life and mine?  Were they adversities or problems to be escaped from? Were they tests of our character with God being the Cosmic Quiz Master? The problem with that theory is that God is omniscient so He already knows the full extent of my character and doesn’t need to test it to learn anything.  Were they loving gifts from our Good Father?  Yes, I think they were.  Through Joseph God spared 2 entire nations from a brutal famine, if not a whole region. If it were not for the slavery, how would Joseph have ended up in Egypt?  If not for the prison sentence, how would he have made contact with the king to interpret his dream? You couldn’t just make an appointment to see the king of Egypt. And what about the character growth of Joseph from a teen who flaunted his being a favorite to a ruler who forgave his brothers for selling him into slavery?

My job loss and divorce?  I firmly believe that they were, and continue to be, essential components to how God is shaping my character.  Without them I would not be here addressing you.  They have completely reversed my perspective, drawing my focus away from the circumstances and onto the nature of God. They compel me to start with God and then work towards my circumstances instead of the other way around.

          But what about you?  Are you suffering?  Are in you in a hardship or trial that you’d like God to free you from?  You’re not alone. Indeed, you cannot be alone; you are deep within the omnipotent Hand of our Loving Father. So I say to you, “Stop staring at your circumstances and wondering how God is going to get you out of your current problems. Start staring at God and wondering how his Hand is reshaping the clay of your soul into His Image.  Don’t start with your circumstances, start with God. Turn around; you’re going the wrong way. Are you focused on your sinking finances?  Turn around!  Focused on impending job loss?  Turn around!  Consumed by your poor health?  Turn around! You are going the wrong way! Focus on God and becoming like His Son.”  I’m not saying it’s easy. It’s not.  I’m not saying I’m really good at it yet. I’m not.  But it IS God’s purpose for you.  Stop focusing on the things that don’t matter, on the material world around you and the body He already has plans to replace, and start focusing on Him and becoming like Him. Trust Him. Aren’t you more precious to the omnipotent, omniscient and loving Father than a plant?  Isn’t he a better Father than the recurring failures that we are? Believe it; it’s true. And this Truth will set you free.

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Posted by Mike | Posted in Planting & Gardening | Posted on 20-11-2008

Tags: education, games, gardening quiz questions and answers, gardening quiz questions and answers 3, math, questions and answers, quiz questions and answers, science, technology