Mike's Musings - 2

If There Is a God...

Having said that the universe is the way it is, the question arises: What is God doing? And especially, Why? We have all heard of people who said something like, If there is a God, why doesn’t He stop war? Or, why doesn’t He stop suffering? Or, why does He allow children to die?



I believe God created the universe and sustains its laws and processes by His providence. I believe that the mind of God instantly keeps track of every sub-atomic particle that has ever existed in the universe, as well as every nano-second in which they existed. I believe that God’s providence ultimately controls everything regarding people, things, time, space, angels and eternity.



Yet, in order that sentient beings - human and angelic - might have real free will, he made it so that these sentient beings can mess with the processes and produce real natural and spiritual consequences - if not always the ones intended, anticipated or desired. These consequences may have very concrete and far ranging effects on nature, people, the spiritual realm and God’s actions or reactions.



God basically lets the universe run according to the general laws, plans, purposes, goals of nature and of His will. Or, within limits, by the actions, choices and decisions of His creatures. From the human standpoint, it often appears that the universe runs by its own natural momentum. The Deists used to believe that God created the universe, then wound it up like a clock and let it run without further intervention. Satan believes he will ultimately get total control of the system and is constantly interfering. To some it appears that humans can have more influence on the overall effects and operations of the universe than is really the case. Some creatures convince themselves that they can get God to operate the universe like a coin operated candy machine for selfish or silly wishes.



As far as possible, God lets it be so. Nothing would happen if He didn’t supply and maintain the energy, oil the machinery, sustain the atoms, provide the spiritual realities - alone or through agents - keep the galaxies in their places, make the laws operate. But, to give maximum freedom to sentient beings, God frequently lets the universe run with His hands off of particular controls. And though God did not create certain entities that now lodge within the universe, or initiate certain actions, or cause certain effects that happen within the bounds of the universe, He usually gets the credit or the blame for whatever transpires because He created the platform and allows whatever happens, though in fact it may not be according to His will and it may grieve Him sorely.



God is not without resources or recourse in dealing with any effect or consequence, anywhere, of any kind. Based on His own purposes, or the outer limits of His tolerance of sin and suffering, or the faith and prayers of His creatures, He can and may put His hands back on the controls. He may overrule, He may reverse, He may fix, He may heal or restore or restrain or repair some individual process or group of processes gone awry. Or He may not. While generally letting the universe naturally run down (according to the second law of thermodynamics) toward its destiny, in the interim He may work a miracle, He may do a new thing, He may create additional matter, new laws, new nature, more space, more time. Or He may not. He may limit Himself in particular cases, but He is never at His wit’s end. His hands are not tied. He is never a day late or a dollar short.



But He does not guarantee the outcome we desire. He may not intervene the way we want. If He does nothing, is He to blame? If He does something not as good as desired, is He to blame? If He grants our wish but it is ultimately harmful to us, is He to blame? Since He created the universe and bad things happen in it, is He to blame? Perhaps in our perplexity, the real question is, why did God create such a lousy universe at all? For that matter, does God even care? Is He impartial? Is He fair? Is He just? Is there really a God?



It is perfectly normal and legitimate for human beings to try to understand as much about God and His ways as possible. It is not a sin to ask questions of God or about God. It is not wrong to note problems, inconsistencies, contradictions, ambiguities, paradoxes, lack of information and the massive tragedy of the human condition. Furthermore, those who believe in God should not try to apologize for God with easy explanations, platitudes, excuses, clichés, caveats, outs. We should not attribute evil behavior to God (as in predestinating individuals to suffering or hell) and say that because God does it, it is OK.



Though God is sovereign, He cannot be a bully dictator and be consistent with the character or attributes of Godness. God cannot lie. God cannot deny Himself. God cannot be unjust. God cannot act like the devil and still be God. The picture that some people portray of God is of a Saddam Hussein or a Stalin or Hitler doing things because He has the power to do them, because He can get away with it and it is our sin even to wonder. God is not the author of mindlessness, of chosen ignorance, of intellectual slavery. No. If there is a God, even He must always act true to His character. God is love. God is good. God is just. He gives universal grace. We might fault Him for creating the kind of universe where free will exists, where He is not the only sentient being, where He is not the only One capable of making God-like choices with consequences for ourselves and others. But then wouldn’t we be vegetables or rocks or empty space or mattered robots - without mind, will or emotions or self-conscious pain or eternality?



Even if we concede God allows pain or catastrophe for an ultimately good and higher and “logical” and finally explainable purpose, we still wonder, Why? We still don’t like it. There are moments when we only want relief, we don’t care about free will, we don’t care about building character, we don’t care about the will of God, we just want the agony and the hassle to stop. We just want to sleep or forget or die.



Frequently God does not explain (so people will make of that whatever they want to). There are things that the best human mind cannot understand and may never understand (we will never be Gods). Whatever we say to ourselves, nothing changes that fact. God may seem arbitrary, blind, silent, mocking. The universe can appear – and for many practical purposes is – random. So, we have the choice of drawing closer to the Lord or of hating or cursing Him for the way things are. We have the freedom to become naturalists or nihilists or atheists. Though God loves such people still, those are poor choices to make with the limited amount of information and capacity we currently have. And choices do have consequences.



No illustration is perfect, but this one helps me. Like a parent deciding to allow doctors to perform a necessary surgery on the brain of their baby knowing it may leave the child permanently retarded; or permitting doctors to amputate the mangled legs of their unconscious teenager; or someone deciding to take a spouse off life support to die; so God allows shocking events to befall His loved ones, for what He knows is sufficient reason. I say, in the grand scheme of eternity, these tragedies are temporary, minor and ultimately forgettable. I don’t mean to be flippant. Though we may hate such circumstances with one part of our being as they occur, myriads can testify that these experiences do not per se prevent any individual from achieving their full essential potential. My friend, Jean Ruff, who has cancer on her aorta, told me recently that most of the cancer patients she knows that have sought God’s will for their lives, would not go back to their status quo ante. Without rationalization, many have found such experiences - their own and those of their circle - to be rich, replete with grandeur, full of spiritual fulfillment and contentment. And death itself represents no loss of essential human potential and fulfillment.