This is, by far, the hardest part of the story for me so far. The young girl’s question rings repeatedly in my head:
How can a God of hesed love order the deaths of thousands?
The old man has no answer – perhaps there is no answer. Or maybe the answer is simple: God keeps trying, over and over again, to remind us of who we are and whose we are. They had forgotten the story of God’s great works. The people of the Old Testament had forgotten the goodness of God. Temptation surrounded them – and won. In an attempt to save them from temptation and broken lives, God attempts to eradicate the source of temptation. I, like the young girl, am left with a greater understanding, but not acceptance.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that here we are, thousands of years later, in the same predicament – we have forgotten the story. Temptation surrounds us and we so easily forget the goodness of God. We forget that God provides for us in a way that society can’t. Maybe we look behind us and remember “the good ole days” – but we forget the emptiness we felt. Or maybe we are in the midst of strife right now and we can’t remember the last time we felt blessed. We don’t sing of the greatness of God – we long for our enemies to be eradicated.
We have forgotten the story. We have forgotten who we are and whose we are. This isn’t just a story of a struggle from so long ago – it’s also the story of our struggle, here and now.
There’s grace in sharing our struggle…you know, all the muck that stems from our having forgotten. Just knowing we’re not alone in the struggle, in the constant ease of forgetting and the constant need to remember Whose we are, too–chock full of grace! Better still, it’s an opportunity and reminder to encourage our brothers and sisters to hold on! We’re still here, but we’ve not been left to our own devices! Praise God!
Praise God indeed! As I continue to muse over the story, I realize in a way never before how the Old Testament sets up the New … God tried EVERYTHING to bless the world through his chosen people, but nothing worked. I’m getting ahead of myself here – but it’s precisely because of this whole mess of a struggle that God came down to earth himself. There’s no better season than Advent to be struggling with this story!
This is another great post Crystal, and I agree that the timing of this is better than I could’ve imagined. I’m glad to be working through this one with you and the others during such as time as this.
Thank you.
As I read this comment I picture (in my head) all of us with arms locked together along with all of the saints that have gone before us. It’s cool to know that we’re not alone in this… that we can face it all together… for His glory!
I bristled, too. I have the same question, inside of me.
One day, we’ll get to sit and ask this questions — and a million more — and somehow it will
all …
make …
sense.
Until then, I appreciate that we can walk together and try to muddle our way through. And I’m grateful that we worship a God who is big enough to handle our biggest questions.
One thing I know for sure is that I’m not (and shouldn’t pretend to be) able to comprehend God’s thoughts/wisdom. I mean… the Dude created the universe, and I struggle with understanding the periodic charts. He knows INFINITELY more than me, and I’m just a speck. But I’m a speck that He loves… and it is through THAT filter that I TRY to understand the un-understandable.
This book just looks amazing! I’ve added it to my nook wish list! 🙂
Oh, I love your blog. 6 Android apps? I’m popping over there. See ya!
oh snap! the book made @duane_scott’s nook wish list? that’s good company with @RELEVANTmag’s best books of 2010! Hope you enjoy it!
“…we have forgotten the story…”
Oh my. That part. Right there. It’s where things always go wrong, isn’t it?
You are so right Deidra… so right.