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| Bible verse comparison: New International Version (left) and The Message (right), emphasis added |
Over and over the people in the Bible are perplexed. Sometimes "the greatest among Gods" seems paradoxical and topsy-turvy (crucifixion for eternal life). Other times the Creator's actions seem to come as commandment or dictator's omnipotence and omniscience. Still other times the lessons seem unfair (grape harvesters hired at different times but paid the same, regardless of hours labored). No matter how logical and penetrating the human mind, the wrestling never seems to accommodate God's ways and will. As soon as the person "makes sense" of God's wishes, then the faith is dead or at least loses vitality and liveliness.
An advocate for the devil could point out that God is always right(eous). Disaster, blessing, incompetence, abuse can all lead to different outcomes, but despite the inconsistency that people see and experience, God is always right. God's position cannot be wrong, no matter the suffering or distress that people find themselves in. And while that perception and experience may be painful, it does not deny that God is present in good times and in bad. The ups and downs do not exclude God from being present; indeed, at extremes of joy or sorrow God's abiding presence is especially valuable.
Another implication of this idea that "God always is right" is that there is no escape; no place to be outside of God's circle of care and presence. You could be in air, on land, or at (or under) sea and God will be present; and God's will reigns. So the devil's advocate may be right about God can't lose; in good times or in bad, God wins. But that does not mean that human life is a rigged game of chance. Rather, it means that God is inescapably present in all that one sees and does, and present for all time; from first breath to last. A person cannot escape God's world or otherwise not show up; "not playing, just watching."
Echoing the all-encompassing blanket of God's presence and love for what the Creator has made, there is the imagery of "knowing all the hairs of your head" and "knowing you before you were born." This sense of knowing a person, or personalizing a relationship (not knowing facts and other fragments of information pulled from its context). God's timeless presence is in tune with the idea of knowing everything, omniscience: not a trivia master but a personal relationship with every large or small sentient being, whether animal or vegetable. Inescapable and never letting go. By accepting this bond between Creator and one's own self, it is easy to feel one's exterior (physicality) and one's interior (intangibles) linked to the surrounding creatures in this moment and for all the passing milliseconds one strides the planet. Perceiving self as being isolated from the surroundings is a perspective that is impoverished and short-sighted. Instead, all this creation is co-present with one's own time and space; all of this is joined together in a massive convoy traveling down the road together.
1 comment:
I think you wrapped it up perfectly. My thoughts were leaning toward the , perhaps, misguided notion that God has any responsibility given omniscience....that I'm not sure. Whatever we experience in presence is too genuine to be any byproduct of obligation. I think , in there, may also lie the answers so many have when they question the why's behind the universe and consistent suffering.
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