Does Everything Happen For a Reason?

"We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose..." (Romans 8:28)

"Everything happens for a reason..." (American "proverb" that many assume is based on Biblical principles)

Reflection:

My wife loves knitting. And she's good at it.

She keeps telling me "Russell Crowe knits" to remind me it's not just for women.

I say, "Good for Russell Crowe..."

I was watching her knit an especially challenging project one time - a project that included several balls of yarn. She'd pick up one color and bring it in, then the next, then the next.

The balls of yarn were all beautiful colors - except one. There was one ugly, bland brown ball of yarn.

But what amazed me was that, as the project developed, her masterful skills threaded that single strand of brown in and out of the other colors until the entire thing was stunning - truly a work of art. I guess that's what really talented knitters can do. Even that ugly brown ball of yarn became part of something beautiful.

In my life as a pastor, I hear people say "Everything happens for a reason" a lot. It is a source of comfort for many; the idea that when something bad happens, even though we might not understand the purpose, there must be one...

But what if there isn't?

What if, sometimes, bad things happen? Either because of our poor choices, or chance, or genetics, or the poor choices of others? What if, sometimes, things just happen even if we wish they wouldn't?

See, the reason I don't like that phrase is that it assumes God is a big puppet master. If someone is in a car accident, and there is a fatality, this phrase silently insinuates that God caused the death...

Why? To teach others a lesson? That's not the God I believe in, and it's not the God pictured in the Bible, if read as a whole.

Maybe, God is like a master knitter, taking the ugly, the bland, the painful, the impossible, and still weaving those threads into the whole fabric that is your life?

What if God is really that talented and good and kind and gracious?


What if, in the fabric of my personality, gifts, and flaws, God has allowed even the hardest experiences I've had to be part of the beautiful whole? 


What if all things really DO work together for good for those who love the Lord, because God's determined not to waste any of our experiences?


What if, by God's grace, the ugly experiences can in the end make us more gracious, forgiving, and open? 


Does this mean God caused our pain to make us that way, or does it mean God is busy knitting?


Today, my prayer is that whatever you are going through, you trust in the promise that whether you sense it or not, God is busy knitting in your life, too...

A Trust Fall

Psalm 146 (click link to read passage before reading Devotion below)

"The world's going to end - do you know where you're going?"
"Repent or burn!"
"Believe!"

These are all slogans of a brand of Christianity I struggle with.
The first two, you probably agree with. You probably struggle with that mindset as well.
The third one, though - why would a pastor say he doesn't like encouraging people to believe?

It is because the Biblical idea of "belief" has been hi-jacked by our cultural baggage.

The math teacher tells you to "believe" that 2+2=4.
The history teacher tells you to "believe" that the Holocaust did, in fact, happen.
The preacher tells you to "believe" in Jesus.

These three are not the same.
The first two have to do with my head...what I think. What I believe to be factually true.

When the word "believe" is used in the Bible, however, it is much deeper than that.
Believing in Jesus doesn't mean agreeing with the intellectual idea that he died and rose again.
Believing in Jesus is much more like the picture above.
Reach out to him.
Let yourself fall into his arms.
Trust him.

If you're like me, though - you don't force yourself to trust someone. It isn't an act of will.
It is a by-product of a relationship. You spend enough time with someone, you learn that they mean what they say, you begin to trust them.

Today is my last blog entry before the Apocalypse. According to Familyradio.com, the "rapture" will occur tomorrow evening, May 21st, at 6:00 PM. While I could write a whole blog entry about how this is the "wrong" way to read the Bible, and how I think it is precisely this brand of Christianity that most turns people off, I will simply say this:

I trust in God's unbounded love for all. Period.
I don't trust in humans' ability to figure out the "hidden math" in the Bible.
I don't trust in a fringe group's ability to frighten people into believing in a non-Biblical picture of Jesus.
I don't trust in my own abilities, because those are limited, too...
I trust in God's unbounded love for all. Period.

So, if tomorrow's the Apocalypse, bring it on.
If not, fine - Sunday's sermon is already written.
Either way, I believe I am falling into the arms of love...

Why Being A Christian Is Harder Than It Looks

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’

Romans 12:19

‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…’

Matthew 5:43-44

Reflection:

On Sunday night, Jess, the kids and I were still at my mother’s house in AZ, on vacation. We had just put the kids to bed, and we were looking forward to playing card games with my mom because it was our last night with her. Then, a text came over my mom’s phone. “Turn on the TV – big news!”

We then sat for the next hour watching the details as they came in. Photos of Osama bin Laden, archive footage of the towers falling on 9/11/01, and tons of talking heads telling us what they thought this meant. As our President spoke and confirmed the rumors, I felt a sense of national pride, a sense of relief, and a sense of disturbed sadness all at the same time.

The first two emotions were motivated by my patriotism, my sense of fairness, and my assumption that bad people deserve bad things. The third emotion, though – the disturbed sadness – I believe came from my life studying the Bible.

You see, we often want Christianity or Jesus to validate, confirm, or support the basic reactions and emotions we have as people. We want there to be some verse in the Bible that tells us it is OK for us to joyously celebrate this man’s demise. He was a mass-murderer for crying out loud! Isn’t it OK to be thrilled he’s dead, God?

Jesus had a lot of encounters with people who wanted him to validate their human emotions of vengeance, greed, or fairness. The disciples had an argument in front of him about which one of them was the greatest, but Jesus re-directed their conversation. A lawyer approached him, asking what he had to do to earn his way into heaven. Jesus re-directed the question. People lined the streets with palm branches in hand, expecting Jesus to offer military revenge to the occupying Roman army. Jesus re-directed their eyes to the cross.

Thus, my disturbed sadness…because from studying and reading the Bible, I know that the part of me that is a citizen of this country still has to come under the part of me that follows the God of all people. I know that we have to struggle with the things that Jesus said and did, because he does NOT simply justify or validate our human need for revenge or what we think is “fairness.” I know that asking God to be fair actually means I’m out of the promise, as well. I know that expecting God to judge like I would is a problem, because I judge imperfectly.

So, my emotions about the news stay mixed up and confused, and I’m OK with that. I am relieved that someone who caused such suffering is no longer able to do so. I am saddened that sometimes in this broken world, violence is a necessary evil (and I am able to recognize it still as an evil, no matter how good it feels). And I am attempting to trust in the two verses I placed above. As difficult as it might be, I can even pray for the soul of this murderer…because it is God who has the final say, not me.

Sometimes, being a Christian makes you do things you never thought you’d do.

Prayer: God of love, mercy, and grace, we pray for all those who suffered because of bin Laden. We pray for all those who bravely brought him to human justice. And we pray for ourselves, that we might find peace and humility in trusting that your justice will always have the final say. Amen.