Know God as He is
- Order of Service: Common Service (CW, p15)
- Lessons: 1 Kings 3:5-12, Romans 8:28-30, Matthew 13:44-52
- Hymns: 477, 377:1-6, 386, 421
Hated by his brothers. Thrown into a well. Sold into slavery. Falsely accused of rape. Imprisoned. That’s Joseph. And yet he says, You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives (Genesis 50:20).
His cattle and herds stolen by enemies. His servants and sheep burned up in a fire. His camels carried off by Chaldeans. His sons and daughters – all 10 – killed in a tornado. His health taken from him. That’s Job. And yet he says, The LORD gives and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised (Job 1:21). Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble (Job 2:10)?
His non-Christian neighbors make out like bandits. They mock God and increase. They’re carefree. They’re wealthy. They have no medical bills. They have fun. They’re loved. They’re celebrated. They get all the advantages. I’m getting the shaft. That’s Asaph. And yet he says, When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny…. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart (Psalm 73:16-17, 26).
Imprisoned for talking about Jesus. Beaten in one town. Stoned in another. Ridiculed for believing in silly things like the resurrection of the dead. Hated by his own countrymen. Hounded from town to town by enemies. Shipwrecked. Snake-bit. Knowing hunger and thirst. That’s Paul. And yet he says, To live is Christ and to die is gain….I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body (Philippians 1:21, 23).
What does your story sound like? Next to these giants of Bible history, do your trials embarrass you? Or do your trials stack up rather nicely next to Joseph and Job, Asaph and Paul? I have no doubt that you can make a fair comparison. I have no doubt that you have been disciplined over the years by your heavenly Father. I have no doubt that you have suffered. Because I’ve heard it from your own lips. I’ve lived it with you.
And Jesus promised it. In this world you will have trouble (John 16:33). Paul repeated it, We must go through many hardships (Acts 14:22). The last two weeks’ worth of parables reinforced it. God plants His Word in your life and the devil snatches, the sun scorches, and the ground chokes. Amidst the good growth of faith grow so many weeds. And they aren’t all external, are they? You’re part wheat and part weed.
And this is what you’re signing up for, Weikels. Trouble and hardship. An unfair world. A sinful world. A sinful congregation. Brothers turn on brothers. Calamity strikes. The rich get richer. What can go wrong will go wrong. And Christ wouldn’t have it any other way. If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Mark 8:34). He must, or else he doesn’t follow Christ. He must, or he’s forfeiting his soul for the world. He must, or else Jesus embarrasses him.
What did Joseph, and Job, and Asaph, and Paul know? What moved them away from cursing God and towards blessing God? They knew God as He is. Joseph knew the God who played the long-game. Who used people, places, and events to put people into the right place for the sake of future events. Job knew the God who gave all and takes all, because it’s all His. Asaph knew the God who kept the scales in balance, even when we can’t see those scales. Paul knew the God who filled Him with joy because He knew that the then of heaven far outweighed the chains of the here and know.
They knew God as He is. Not as sinful minds make Him out to be. Sinful minds make God out to be petty and vindictive, a cruel taskmaster or a spoiled child. Sinful minds make God out to be the worst kind of absentee landlord. Sinful minds agree with Cain, “This isn’t my problem. This isn’t my responsibility! Hey, this is too much you’re pushing off on me!”
It’s always dangerous to draw your own picture of God. It’s always safest to look at the picture God draws for you. That’s what our Lutheran fathers encourage. Over and over again when they contemplate these verses in Romans 8 and what they teach, they say, “Don’t speculate! Don’t read God’s mind. Don’t dive into God’s omniscience!” Look at what God draws. Listen to what God says.
He says, “Everything works together for the good of those who love me, those whom I’ve called.” He says, “I know all these things from eternity. And I chose my sheep, my children, my believers from eternity.” He says, “The ones I chose in eternity, I took care of in time. I made sure to call them. I made sure to justify them. I made sure to glorify them.”
This is God as He is. As He shows Himself to you. Don’t concern yourself with anything else about God, anything He did not or might not tell you. Just what He says. And what He says is that everything that happened to Joseph, Job, Asaph, and Paul, everything that happens to you, to all His called and chosen, happens with His Son at the center. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers (Romans 8:29). This is the plan: to mold, to shape, to form brothers for this Son.
So you can stop saying, “God, I’m trying so hard.” He does all the work. Jesus is the one who called you brother, not vice versa. Hebrews says, Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death…. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people (Heb. 2:14-15, 17). He conforms you. He chose. He called. He justified. He glorified.
This is God as He is, not as you could imagine Him. So stop complaining about all the things that have happened to you, or fearing the things that will happen. Look at the Master of history coordinate events in such a way that at the right time, an unknown virgin gave birth to the King of kings. Look at the Master of history who gave up His Son so that you can be His sons, His children, and heirs of his glory. Look at this Master of history who made a plan, who included you in the plan, who called you, who gathered you, who keeps you, who makes you a brother to Christ. Look at the Master of history who brought your right here, right now. Look at this Master of history who managed to get you into a baptismal font, who managed to have you in Sunday School or church, in a Christian home, or exposed to Christian friends, who brought you pastors when you called.. Look at this Master of History who continually provides the Body and Blood of Christ whenever you need it, whenever you hunger and thirst. Look at this Master of history, who no matter what else you can say, has managed to spare you long enough to bring you to faith, to open heaven to you.
In view of that plan, in view of that mercy, know that you are no longer a part of this world. You are glorified. God favors you. God values you. God honors you with eternal life. You struggle now, but not alone – you’ve got the best Big Brother. Your sinful nature fights, but you’ve got the Justifier justifying you whenever you need it, getting you back onto the boat you fell off, sitting you back at the table you tipped over. Forgiving the trespasses you forgive others.
This is God as He is. Jesus. The sacrificed Son. Jesus. Grace given to you in eternity. Jesus. Risen and glorified. Jesus. Giving that glory to you more and more, until sin is forever removed and glory is forever revealed. Through faith you know God as He is. Amen.
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