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As you note, Kevin, God does not always “act the way a loving human would.”

At least not to appearances. Key word there: “appearances.”

Ephesians 3 (most notably verse 10) and 1 Peter (v 12) does more than just hint at a principle we ought to keep tucked away in our subconscious, and it is this: that there is something great yet to be revealed; something that is “being made known, even to the angels, through the church.”

We don’t yet have all the answers; we still see through a glass darkly; but you can be sure there are not going to be any disappointments when the Whole Story is told. And it is being told – indeed, as we the church begin to fathom the “unsearchable riches of Christ”, the implications of His cross of love, the Whole Story is beginning to emerge.

Until Christ came, no one would have dared dream God would take on human flesh and die in our stead. It would have had the “appearance” of blasphemy to even suggest such a thing.

And yet that is precisely what happened.

Someone has said – wisely, I think – that when all is told, the first thing we are going to do is slap our foreheads and exclaim, “Of course!”


“…in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. “ (Col 2:3)

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father . . . that He would grant . . . that you . . . may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” (Eph 3:14-19)


To be continued . . .

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And every manifestation of true love, whether from a father (Ps 103:13), a mother (1Thess 2:7), a friend (John 15:15), a brother (Heb 2:11), a lover (Canticles), a wax-on/wax-off teacher-warrior – from quite literally any and every conceivable human relation (since He is our “all in all” (1 Cor 15:28; Eph 1:23)) -- has its source and finds its fullest expression in the love of God for every one of us.

Think on these things (Php 4:8), and the Lord give you understanding (2 Tim 2:7), and by it, fullness fullness fullness of joy (Ps 16:11). For it is the truth. Too good to be true, but true, nonetheless.

Jason, I wrestle with that myself. I think part of it is that He doesn't act the way that a loving human would.

My mother died from ALS. My brother lived for decades in horrible pain before dying the day after my mom's funeral last year. I had prayed fervently, particularly for some sort of miracle for my wonderful mother. Despite my pleas, God allowed that cruel disease to run its awful course and then kill her.

A loving HUMAN who had the power to heal would have cured my mom and my brother in a heartbeat. Yet, God didn't do that. By our human standards, He didn't demonstrate a lot of love.

That take on it leaves out one important factor: God's wisdom is magnitudes beyond ours. Just because I can't grasp why things went as they did for my family, that doesn't mean He didn't have His reasons, and it doesn't mean He isn't loving. I can't comprehend any of it, because I'm not God.

That's what I know, which is different from how I feel about things. What I feel is puzzlement and disappointment and pain. God understands. And He loves me.

Actually Rolley, I find it easier when I'm in a mood like that to try to think of God like a "Miyagi in the Sky" then as a lover.

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Jason, we’ve got to let facts determine our feelings; not vice versa. And it is doable, my friend. Takes practice / discipline / habit / routine, but “in due season you shall reap”; “your labor is not in vain in the Lord”, etc. It is exactly exactly exactly exactly what Romans 12:2 is talking about when it says:

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

If it is true that God loves us like it says in Song of Solomon (and many, many other places) (and it IS true!), but we are not convinced of it, then the job is to “get convinced of it”. And it is doable, Jason. Don’t let yourself be robbed of the “joy and peace that comes from believing” (Rom 15:13).

Sermon over (but only for the time being).

:)

Well, aside from being male Rolley, more seriously I have a hard time seeing God that way. To often he feels like a chateau-general. That's not the way I'm supposed to feel and not the way He is and all. But for some reason that's how I feel.

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Sees all and is carried away with delight, as are we who see enough to know why.

“You are altogether beautiful, my darling,
And there is no blemish in you.
“Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
“You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride;
You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes,
With a single strand of your necklace.
“How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!”

--Song of Solomon 4:7, 9, 10

You're right, I am a lot like the tin man. I do have a heart though. It's just that only a few people are allowed more then a limited view of it.

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As I recall it was the brick road that was said to be yellow.

Oops. Some more spam got through, didn’t it?

But that should be the last of it. I believe – and with the rest of you, desperately hope -- we’ve gotten the bot’s whole load of spam now, in toto.

For the record, when I heard that Jason was a lock for the part of the Tin Woodsman, I decided to try out for the "If I Only Had A Brain" Scarecrow, figuring it was a natural fit. But the Director insisted I was born to play the Wizard of Odd.

Sigh.

Very relieved to hear that you made it through the storm, Dorot- uh, *Gina*.

You're good at redeeming things, Rolley. :-) As for the spam itself, I'm sorry about that; we've been getting floods of it lately, which is even more difficult to deal with when one suddenly finds oneself without electricity! And in some posts, especially older posts, the author forgot to set comment moderation, so it slips through.

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The sad thing is, I can actually carry on a conversation with these things. I’m forced to admit that in some ways we think very much alike.

Nevertheless, I comfort myself that though I am easily led into the rabbit hole, during the ensuing fall I’ve been known to make profitable use of the time by availing myself of worthy volumes ensconced in bookshelves along the wall. On one such occasion, to my infinite beatitude, I found several of the works of the venerable Dr. Stott. The rest, as they say, is history:

http://www.breakpoint.org/tp-home/blog-archives/blog-archives/entry/4/14216 , comment of April 19, 2010 10:07 PM

But I digress (or do I? Is it even possible to digress from a digressive, wheels-within-wheels digression of one’s own manufacture? Therein is a cosmic mystery I daresay even the illimitable Shane Gregory cannot fathom. However, this much is certain beyond dispute: if it is even remotely possible, I shall accomplish it in spades).

The point is (heh; as if there could BE a point to my ramblings; for as they say “to preface nonsense with respectability is to put pigstick on ellipse”, or something like that) – the point is, since “celine” has succeeded in getting the commentary train’s present driver to take an unscheduled left turn down a rabbit trail, it seems only proper for him to attempt to get it back on track. Gina, I doubt not, would approve and might even refrain from wielding the YOD this one time. But I doubt it).

This isn’t going to be easy. In fact, I’m afraid the best I can do is jump a couple more tracks in order to get back to the original point of departure. And even then I can’t guarantee we’ll be headed in the same compass direction as before. But if the endeavor is worthy, the attempt is what counts, eh? Here goes.

In another currently-ongoing thread, someone has inexcusably redirected the conversation from the highly-edifying Calvinist-Arminian debate to the apostolically-censured practice of “wrangling over words”; words like “corroborable” and “complimentarity” and transfection” and others that no one (in my opinion) but some rank-and-file semi-driving-Pelagian would touch with a ten-foot Genevan.

But since the die is cast . . .

In the same archived comment that I referenced just a few paragraphs up this current page, Jason Taylor – yes, folks, our own Jason Taylor – began this word-coining craze with his own now-classic contribution: “nazificatory” (first introduced to us here: http://www.breakpoint.org/tp-home/blog-archives/blog-archives/entry/4/14141 )

Time, I think, for you to take a bow, Jason. (But first the arrow, my friend).

So it all comes full-circle; it always comes full-circle in the end, doesn’t it? Don’t you see? It’s plain as the beak on my face. Celine isn’t your typical spambot. She’s been redeemed. Ladies and gentlemen (and all others who may on occasion fall into that third category where I perpetually dwell), meet the new “Celine”, BreakPoint’s resident Stottbot. (Good for about 70 or so Scrabble points, I’d guess, depending on how it’s played).

The Fearless Duck: "What makes a king out of a slave? What makes the flag on the mast to wave? What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? What makes the dawn come up like thunder? What makes this guy John Stott so hot? What puts the "ape" in apricot? WHADDA THEY GOT THAT I AIN'T GOT?!!?!?"
All: "'Corroborable'?"
FD: "You can say that again! Huh?"

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My remarks were directed at "celine"’s comments, not Stott’s book.

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I said “almost”.

In an effort to save you some busywork, Gina, I emailed Ms. Bags (or is it Ms. Online? Not real sure) telling her “thanks, but no thanks”.

Know how she responded? She said (and I quote):

“obxgav luggage celine xqrqzu luggage celine ahsria twydcr celine luggage nano qxiesc juxdix nryuicof celine luggage nano”

As if we haven’t heard THAT line before.

My advice: be skeptical of kooky posts like this -- unless they clearly originate from me.