Teachable Moments

This post is dedicated to the memory of Tony Snow;  joyful musician, journalist, writer, husband and father.  He went home to be with his father in heaven yesterday and will be sincerely missed here on earth.  RIP.

Driving through my neighborhood yesterday en route to the bank, I saw a mother and  son on a morning walk.  As I drew closer, the mother gestured toward the side of the road to make sure I saw the turtle that was moving toward the middle of the street.  After I’d slowed down and passed them, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw the mother pick up the turtle and place it safely in the grass. 

I drove away turning the scene over in my mind.  Funny, isn’t that just like what God does for us?  He sees his children walking into a dangerous situation:  Sometimes he picks us up with his unseen hand and places us out of harm’s way.  Sometimes, perhaps because we need to learn a lesson, he allows us to experience the fruit of a poor decision. 

A good father instructs his children, guides them, encourages them, and when necessary to build their character, corrects them.  People who refuse to believe that a God of love would punish poor behavior show a profound lack of understanding about the nature of fatherhood and the attributes of our Lord. 

Interpretation of the Bible is not meant to be performed within the context of our secular culture.  In other words, in this age of pragmatism where “sophisticated” people believe that truth can mean something different to everyone, the Bible is frequently looked at as a loose collection of bedtime stories about a colorful character named Jehovah.  But it isn’t.

What if there really is a God who, as the Bible recalls, created the world as a good space, created man in the image of himself.  And what if man, using the free will given by God, rebels and brings evil into the world?  What if it’s true that God then sent his only son to live here and die here in our place so that justice could be served?  If it’s all a hoax, then we can do what we want, unrestrained by conscience or moral obligations.  Any good we do wouldn’t matter because nothing lasts – everything ends at death.  But if what the Bible says is true, the paradigm must change.

I accept that God is a personal being who loves me, and that every action I take is either drawing me closer to or away from him.  The Bible has become the basis upon which my entire life is built, so I cannot compartmentalize my faith to please those around me. It isn’t something I take out on Sunday mornings and put away the rest of the week, because it’s more than simply a religion; it’s life.  Among all the world religions, Christianity is the only one in which God reaches out to us first.  All others require some sort of work on the part of humans before experiencing the promises made to them.  Not so with the God of the universe.

When we believe that God loves us and we commit to living out his plans for us, certain changes will inevitably occur.  We’ll start to look at things through God’s perspective rather than the world’s.  We’ll begin to care about things we didn’t care about before, and we’ll realize that some of the things that we thought mattered, don’t really matter at all.  We all have an earthly father, but we will come to know and understand God as our holy father who takes care of us and nurtures us and loves us unconditionally. 

My father in heaven does indeed, like the mother lifting the turtle from the roadway, care for his children.  That knowledge changed my life and brought me a joy that passes all understanding, and I pray you will discover that joy, too.