God is the Fixer (Destination: Bethlehem, Day 5)

In Colossians chapter 1, we are reminded of the nature of God - to restore, to reconcile fallen humanity to Himself - Who sent His Son to give His life so that we could come to know Him.
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

We live in a world where there is rampant evil, and while we cannot expect God to intervene and thwart every evil plan of men and women and somehow to make people do what He wants them to do, we can recognize that when or where we encounter evil, we can trust in Almighty God, Who has made it possible for people to know Him and come into a right relationship with Him.  He has triumphed over sin and death, and in His mercy, He invites us to experience His presence as we call upon Him and draw near to Him.

+++++

We continue with our Christmas Advent-ure today with a visit to the city of Jericho.   We find in Joshua chapter 2 that Israelite spies had been sent in to search out the city:
1 Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.
2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country."
3 So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country."
4 Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.

She hid the spies on the roof, and later in the chapter, we read, in verse 9:
9 "I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.

She asked that hers and her family's lives be spared.  The city was later defeated, and we find Rahab's name in the genealogy of Jesus.  God's plan marches on - Rahab became the mother of Boaz; yes, as in Boaz and Ruth.  Jericho, well, was totally destroyed.

We see that Joshua had a mission - to destroy the cities and the people who were not part of His chosen people.  You could really dig deep into the theological implications of this, but I believe you can make the case that God was cleansing the land set aside for His people - Rahab and her family were saved, every one else condemned.

The world was an evil place then, and it still is now.  And, God showed up for His people.  And, in the midst of evil, we do well to align with the mercy of the Lord.

But, the New York Daily News apparently doesn't understand that.  I thought it was a joke at first after the San Bernardino shootings, some inappropriate attempt at satire.  The headline read, "God Isn't Fixing This," and featured quotes from Republican leaders who offered up thoughts and/or prayers in their comments.  I saw the mockery on Twitter the other afternoon, as it seemed respondents, in the light of 14 people dead, divided into two major camps - those that supported further gun regulations, as if that is a magic solution to the problem of evil people doing evil things, and those who were offering "thoughts and prayers," which is a highly appropriate response.

I believe God intervenes in amazing ways into the affairs of men, and Sean Davis on The Federalist website, contended that God has given a response to the question of evil.  Davis writes :

Lashing out at God, the creator of all things, who offered His blameless and perfect Son as a holy sacrifice to forever wash away the sins of all who believe in Him and seek His forgiveness, so that we may one day be eternally reconciled to Him and delivered from evil, is sadly nothing new. God has been blamed by mankind for its own evil since man first decided that day in the garden that his own judgment was far greater than that of his creator.

“Come down from the cross and save yourself!” they later demanded. He did not save Himself by hopping down from that cross.

Instead, He “fixed” the situation by dying an unimaginably horrible death, bearing the weight of the sins of all mankind for all eternity, being laid in a cold and empty tomb, and then, on the third day, after literally defeating death and sin itself, Jesus Christ rose from the dead and informed the world that as a result of His perfect life, painful death, and resurrection from the dead, sinful man might one day share in the infinite glory of God’s holy and perfect Son, not because of our own actions or merit, but because of the sacrifice and unending grace and mercy of the only perfect man to ever walk the earth.

Davis contends God's response to the statement, "God Isn't Fixing This," is found in Job chapters 38 through 41, which contain declarations of the sovereignty of Almighty God.

So God is the fixer - He is the restorer, and He is calling men and women to turn to Him, to call on Him, with the hope of seeing Him reveal Himself in amazing ways.

The headline of a story by Emma Green of The Atlantic refers to the actions of those who took people to task for mentioning prayer after the shootings as "prayer shaming."

Alex McFarland, who spoke at a  SALT Apologetics Conference at First Baptist Montgomery several years ago, wrote a piece that appeared on the CNSNews.com website, in which he states:

Well, what do we expect? God is just and his justice prevails, along with His love and mercy. But God is not weak or soft, and in a nation that has turned its back on Him, suffering will occur as a consequence.

First, prayer to Almighty God is a serious act. And just because we don’t live in a peaceful world doesn’t mean that God isn’t hearing and answering our prayers, and it doesn’t mean that He is not at work. But the truth is that we live in a fallen world, and many want to reap God’s blessings without ever having to deal with His judgment. One myth about Christianity is that if God was real, He wouldn’t allow bad things—like mass shootings, sickness and death—to happen. But the truth that counters that myth is that Christianity offers the best hope and power to deal with suffering.

I remember at a Q&A session at another SALT Conference, Brett Kunkle of Stand to Reason was asked a question about God allowing suffering.  I remember his response was something to the effect of, "What would you have God to do?"

It is interesting how people want God to somehow intervene magically to stop all human suffering. But to do so would mean that He would override the evil desires of individuals.  It's almost like people expect Him to make all of us robots, but nobody feels especially robotic.

The actions of this couple in California were motivated by evil desires that were not in conformity to the will of God.  Sure, you could say that God could have intervened, and I believe that He does intervene in many different ways in our lives.  I would not be surprised to hear stories of people who gained solace through prayer in the aftermath of the shootings, or people who experienced divine protection in a chaotic situation.   As McFarland says, "Christianity offers the best hope and power to deal with suffering."

There will be times when destruction will come - like at Jericho.  But, there was a bigger picture: God's plan was unfolding, and He preserved His people and protected a family that had one member who was willing to trust in Him even in the midst of destruction.  In this case, her life was spared.  And, that should always be our default in difficulty and danger - trust God, and leave the results to Him.

But, there are those that don't believe that, and shake their fist at God when bad things happen.   Rather, we should look at ourselves, at the evil condition of humanity, and think about how God sent a Savior to walk with us through tragedy, the Savior who brings hope to a fallen world, who gave His life so that we can come to know Him.