Saturday, June 27, 2015

Thy Will Be Done

June 27, 2015

"If God did not by a very visible liberality confer these [blessings] on some of those persons who ask for them, we should say that these good things were not at His disposal; and if He gave them to all who sought them, we should suppose that such were the only rewards of His service; and such a service would make us not godly, but greedy rather, and covetous."
--St. Augustine, "The City of God"

Tonight I had a conversation with a good friend who over the years has gone through some pretty challenging life circumstances, and is facing some even as we talked. This man is a devout follower of Jesus Christ (he probably would remonstrate with me about this description, but it is true), and as we talked he shared with me some of the struggles and questions he has with life as he has experienced it. Sometimes, it just doesn't make sense. How as Christians do we account for the tragedy of young children left motherless because of a drunk driver? What do we do with the savagery of ISIS or the genocide of an entire generation in our own American holocaust as a result of Roe v. Wade? Where do we find a loving, merciful, and omnipotent God in the midst of Ferguson or Charleston?

I have to confess that even as a Christian pastor, I don't have satisfactory answers, but I also affirm that jettisoning my Christian faith would only make things worse. If there is no omniscient, omnipotent God of love and mercy, I am left with life that has only whatever meaning I can read into it, and even that makes no sense if my thoughts, hopes, and dreams are nothing more than the random collisions of atoms inside my brain. If everything is as the atheist says, the result of random chance, then there is no basis for right or wrong, no reason to say this person's life is of value, or that particular conduct is either chivalrous or crude.

The only response to the evil of this world that makes any sense is that of the Judeo-Christian tradition that posits evil as the distortion of the goodness of God and his creation, made possible by God's decision to give us freedom to choose love or hatred, good or evil. Without such freedom, love loses all meaning; if not given freely, it can hardly be called love.

This whole question of good and evil comes to a head in our prayers. We pray, but often do not receive the answers we are looking for. Sometimes prayer feels like an exercise in futility. This is why I like and am grateful for St. Augustine's observation quoted at the beginning of this post. And it is why I cling to the Lord's Prayer, where Jesus taught us to pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Why pray that way? Because it is patently obvious that it isn't happening, and prayer is one of the ways we stay connected and accountable to Truth and Goodness, trusting that one day the weight of countless saints praying that very prayer will tip the balance and help usher in that kingdom where God's will is done, here and now, on earth as it is in heaven.

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