Progress, Part II

I find it interesting to consider how our culture impacts our faith. Some may like to pretend it doesn't but I believe that the soil in which the seed is planted has an impact on the plant and the fruit that comes from it.

For example, in America, it seems like we have a tendency towards "instant replay" aspects of our faith. Before that runs too far, let me explain what I mean. In the NFL, as with any other sport, there have been bad calls by referees. As a solution, the NFL created the instant replay review where a team can challenge a call. The ref can review the play and either agree with or reverse the ruling on the field, explaining for the sake of the audience why he did so. While that has corrected some poor calls, it also has affected the way we view referees. No longer are the rulings on the field irreversible and (as far as the governing officials see it) inscrutable.

Likewise, when we get a "bad call" from God, like a child's death or a disability, we think we deserve an explanation--maybe even a correction. That's not how it works, at least not normally. There is no combination of syllables or order of words that can console a grieving father who naturally asks, "Why?" No answer would satisfy him, only because he doesn't really want to know why; he wants his child back.

Beth Holloway, the mother of Natalee Holloway, recently appeared in an interview and she reflected that her daughter's disappearance in Aruba has cost her everything. Nothing has remained untouched in her life, not her marriage, not her job, nothing. She's searching for her daughter, and if she can't find her, she's going to look for answers, answers she possibly believes that she's owed. I'm a parent and that's likely what I'd be doing if I was in her place.

My friend Russ posited this one tonight, and I think its worth sharing. The answer we sometimes get to "Why" questions might be simply that He won't provide the answer and simply require us to exercise faith. Faith that He is with us in these moments. Faith that He still works everything together for our good. Faith that He is "I AM," the eternal One that not only created the universe but acts within it to shape us and bring us into relationship with Him.

I'm often amazed at the intricacies of life. I encounter a few seconds delay in one place, like a traffic light, and later I see a friend somewhere else I go that I would have otherwise missed entirely. That friend coincidentally could use my help with something or needs me to relay something on to someone else and that ends up working some good in the grand scheme of things. I don't ask "Why" then, do I? Only when I disagree, or find the situation disagreeable. That's when I throw the red flag out on the field and challenge the play. I might as well hand the flag over to the ref before the opening kickoff. He's God; I'm not. He's inscrutable, and I am not. He is I AM and most certainly, I am not. That doesn't mean I won't have questions for Him when His perfect kingdom comes, but it does mean that I don't have to waste time with instant replay while I'm still on the field. Wind the clock, folks, and let's go.