by Lucas Miles
Let’s face it: God has a bad reputation. Rumor has it that he divinely designs cancer cells, systematically spirals tornadoes, and callously causes car accidents all for the sake of his glory. One might assume that such accusations against God could be propagated only by a slanderous enemy, but, amazingly Christians are often the source.
Quick to cite the suffering of Job, and the benefit of trials and temptations in the book of James, Christians pepper their well-intentioned comments to those who are suffering with reminders that “His ways are higher than our ways”, as if to take delight in this near-diabolical version of God.
Consider the words of a well-known theologian regarding a string of deadly tornadoes that demolished towns in a dozen states and killed forty-one people in 2012, “Jesus rules the wind. The tornadoes were his.” Continuing he added, “We do not ascribe such independent power to Mother Nature or to the devil. God alone has the last say in where and how the wind blows. If a tornado twists at 175 miles an hour and stays on the ground like a massive lawnmower for 50 miles, then God gave the command.”
Not surprising, this perspective of God has existed for hundreds, if not thousands of years, although its origin is based more in Greek mythology than in Scripture. In another era, perhaps pastors may have been able to slide such broad inconsistencies past religious congregants and God-fearing people, but today in a more secular, educated, and amalgamated culture, humankind is looking for answers.
Is God the source of my pain? Does he have the power to stop my suffering, but refuses to help? Why do some find deliverance, while others continue to writhe in the depths of despair and heartache? In an attempt to make sense of any situation we can’t understand, many believers have created Hallmark-like theologies and catchall phrases to spiritualize suffering. Here are just a few:
- God is in control.
- Everything happens for a reason.
- If God leads you to it, he’ll bring you through it.
- God didn’t cause it, but he allowed it.
Unfortunately, the list goes on and on.
Ironically, Job and his friends were recorded as uttering similar sentiments about God regarding the nature of Job’s suffering. After losing his children, his livestock, and most of his earthly possessions, Job was faced with the temptation to view God as the source of his pain. Trying to determine the cause of the devastation in his life, he said regarding God, “If it is not he, then who is it?” Having never considered that there may be another source of their problems, many people, like Job, have wrongly assumed that God is the author of their heartache. What’s worse is that believers have failed to even see Job’s own conclusion on the matter in the final chapter of his book.
After being confronted by God Himself, Job cries out, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know…My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
This is no small statement coming from the man who spent approximately 30 chapters pontificating about the Almighty and blaming God for his suffering. However in the end, when faced with the truth of God’s goodness, both Job and his friends repented for speaking theories about God which were not true.
Instead of learning from the story of Job, many religious thinkers still fall into the same trap of accusing God and spiritualizing suffering. It seems traditional theology, whether we like it or not, has made God out to be a convict. We’ve not only misunderstood him, but we’ve also slandered his character and falsely accused him. If God were a person, perpetrating the crimes religion claims he does, he would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to a life behind bars.
To further illustrate how Christians have embraced such slanderous theology, consider the words of a friend of ours after my wife and I miscarried our first and only pregnancy. “You know why this happened, don’t you?” our friend said with a caring twinkle in her eye. Continuing with the best of intentions she added, “Your little girl was so loved by God that he couldn’t stand to be apart from her for one second.”
Do condolences like these, well-intended as they are, line up with the character and nature of Jesus? The God who became flesh and gave his life for the sins of the entire world? I should hope not.
In Christ, we see the full manifestation of the character and nature of God in human form. As the writer of Hebrews explains, Jesus is the “exact representation” of the Father. So instead of trying to make sense of the God of the Old Testament by focusing solely on his judgement, we should instead look to Jesus and use Jesus’ life as a lens to interpret the Father’s heart and contextualize his actions. After all, Jesus himself said that “…anyone who had seen (him) had seen the Father.”
So let me ask you, did Christ ever cause negative circumstances in order to bring glory to himself? Never! Did Jesus ever give sickness only to heal it? Quite the contrary. In fact Christ, God incarnate, took upon himself our punishment, so that through his death, we might be proclaimed innocent and find peace with God.
No longer must anyone approach God in fearful expectation, because we have seen the Son. And since we know what Jesus looks like, we know what the Father looks like as well! Frankly, if the God we believe in doesn’t mirror Jesus, then we need to re-evaluate our understanding of God.
Lucas Miles is a writer, speaker, life coach, film producer, and pastor. He pours energy and passion into helping others understand how God’s grace works on a practical level in all areas of life. Lucas is the senior pastor of Oasis Granger, a church community he and his wife, Krissy, planted in 2004. He is also president of the Oasis Network for Churches, a multifaceted church-planting organization, which services churches in more than ten countries. Lucas and Krissy have been married since 2001 and they reside in Granger, Indiana, with their doberman named Kenya. He is the author of Good God.
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