More On Knowing God

I blogged a few days ago about the notion of believing in God versus knowing God.  I'd been impressed with how purposeful God has been through the Bible to show us that knowing Him relationally is really the end game.  Recently, I've been overwhelmed with another Biblical truth.  It's found in a pattern of speech.  The best example of it is found in the book of Ezekiel.

You may remember that Ezekiel was a prophet, called by God to call the Israelites to repentance.  He spoke for God (which is what prophets do even today), and carried very dire warnings to the Israelites.  (And they of course did not want to hear whatever Ezekiel had to say.)  Anyway, if we examine the things that God told Ezekiel to say to the Israelites, there is a peculiar pattern that is demonstrated over and over again.  Let's take a look.

"Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury.  I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the LORD."  (Ezekiel 13:13-14) (NIV)

Did you catch that?  God was speaking (through Ezekiel) to the false prophets.  He basically explained how they would experience His wrath in response to their sin and rebellion, neither of which had been confessed or repented of, or even admitted to.  But God said the result of Him pouring out His anger on them would be that they would know that He is the Lord.  And there is the pattern that I see.

The pattern is evident in many other places in the Bible too.  Just in the book of Ezekiel, we see it in Ezekiel 12:15-16 & 18-10.  We see it in Ezekiel 13:8-9, 13-14 (above), & 20-21.  First we have the sin and rebellion which the Israelites refused to admit, confess, or repent of and turn from.  Second we have the pouring out of God's wrath - typically in the form of weather disasters or acts of war.  And these Scripture references always conclude with the phrase, "... then they (or you) will know that I am the Lord."

So it seems to me that God is showing us that unconfessed and unrepented-of sin is a result of people not really knowing God.  His remedy seems to be expressing His wrath in the form of discipline or punishment that comes from natural disasters (which we call, in modern times, "acts of God").  Or God's wrath and discipline or punishment can come from acts of war - where God uses evil people to implement His discipline of those He's called to be His own.

Maybe I'm a little nutty, but I have to tell you that I can't read such passages without thinking of the natural disasters and acts of war that we have today.  The Islamic attack on the U.S. that we refer to as "9/11."  The Asian tsunami.  The earthquake in Japan.  The tornadoes in the south (of the U.S.)  The flooding of the Midwest (U.S.)  The disaster in New Orleans.  Is it possible that these things were allowed to happen - or even caused to happen - by God?  And if God did purposefully allow or cause these things, was their purpose to help us get a clue (i.e., know that He is the Lord)?

I'm not a radical, Bible-thumping, holy-roller here.  I'll be that last one to point the finger at someone else and say that their suffering is a result of sin that they haven't dealt with.  But I have to say, knowing that God never changes and His character never wavers affects how I read the Bible.  I cannot read these passages of Scripture and see these patterns of how God deals with His chosen people - and not think of what's going on in the world today.

And maybe that's the point.  Maybe, just maybe, God wants us to take a spiritual inventory when we are faced with perplexing natural disasters and acts of war.  And maybe, just maybe, He wants us to admit, confess, and repent of whatever sin we might have in our lives.  Do you suppose then, for example, that if Americans made it a habit to be diligent about repenting of our sin --- that America might experience fewer natural disasters and have less wars to fight?

Memorial Day

It's Memorial Day here in the United States. A national holiday, set aside for the nation to remember the fallen soldiers who, at least in theory, died fighting for the freedoms and the way of life that we all enjoy in our country. Driving around, we've seen flags flying. We've seen fire trucks and crowds at cemeteries, honoring the dead. There've been speeches by governors and even the president.

Some would argue that, in general, Americans take Memorial Day too lightly. It's always a three-day weekend (at least), and usually the spring-like weather is delightful. Americans head to the parks, beaches, picnics, lakes, and even back yards to barbecue, play yard games, go fishing, swim, water ski and a host of other outdoor activities. The naysayers are critical of all that fun. They think having all that fun means that Americans aren't remembering the soldiers who lost their lives for our freedoms at all.

I suppose on some levels, the naysayers have it right. Quite frankly, the notion of soldiers dying for our freedoms may seem like a pretty abstract notion to today's generations. I mean, we haven't had anyone die fighting for our freedom in a very long time. If our freedom has even been threatened by someone, we probably haven't been aware of it. The modern wars of Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq all seem like wars of someone else that we waded into. For some, the reason we even sent soldiers to these wars is unclear.

And therein lies the problem. Our national Memorial Day was supposed to be an annual time set aside to remember and honor those who lost their lives fighting for our freedoms --- our right to live the way we live in America today (and even tomorrow). So there are two questions that could be asked. In fact they should be asked.

The first is who specifically we are honoring. Is it true that all the soldiers who have died did so on behalf of America's freedom? Have all the wars that America waded into been a threat somehow to the freedom of Americans? I'm not so sure. Let's look at a couple of examples.

We fought on the Korean peninsula, for example, against communism. If we won that war, it isn't clear. Perhaps it's safe to say that we won half of that war. And now we do a brisk business with the communists in China. If North Korean communists would just learn some social skills like China did, I bet we'd do a brisk business with them too!

We fought in Vietnam, again against communism. If anyone thinks we won that war, they are probably delusional. Those of us who were alive when America pulled out of it thought we were winning just by walking away. And the country fell to the communists. Today, life goes on pretty much as normal. And Americans do a brisk and growing business with those communists as well.

So what exactly did the men (and women) who died in the Korean and Vietnamese wars die for? Would we all agree that it was for the freedoms and rights of Americans? Isn't that something we should all be in agreement about - if we're going to declare a national holiday to honor them?

The second question that needs to be asked ... and answered, is whether or not this national holiday actually achieves what it set out to do. Do we remember the fallen military on Memorial Day each year? Do we honor them. The country officially does, I know that. But do the people in the country actually do that? What about things like Memorial Day Sales, where mattresses and furniture go on sale? Does that honor the fallen soldiers? What about having a picnic and playing lawn tennis? Does that bring a solemn remembrance of the fallen soldiers? If we were really going to stand, as a nation, in remembrance of the fallen soldiers, is this the best foot we can put forward?

I'm grateful that I am an American citizen. I'm grateful for the life I get to live. While the future is intimidating, I realize my past has been very, very blessed. I pray that I can be worthy of the sacrifice that many have made to give me that blessed life. Now, if only I could know who those people specifically were ... and what I could do to be worthy ... I think my Memorial Day would be complete.

Fireworks Show

Did you celebrate this past weekend? Did you get to see some terrific fireworks? I sure did. We went to two different fireworks shows, one on Friday night and the other on Saturday night. Both of them were parties, with lots of people. Somehow I felt contemplative, amidst all those people. I couldn't help but wonder about this country called the U.S. of A.

I thought of the wars, the economy, the politics, the national debt and other matters. I wondered if we truly are representative of the future - or if we represent some chasm of the future. I read in the newspapers this past weekend, famous people talking about what America means to them. Of course it meant different things to many people, as they all waxed poetic about our greatness, freedom, honor, and even our generosity. Many referred to it as the land of opportunity.

At the risk of sounding cynical, I had to wonder why nobody sees the America I see. I mean it is the land of opportunity and all - but that opportunity has been terribly expensive. It has cost us so much. In fact, it is fair to say that it has cost us considerably more than most people can comprehend.

Consider war. America has been directly involved in just three (3) really deadly wars in my lifetime. The Vietnam war cost us a great deal. Many lives were lost. Much money was spent. Considerable internal strife resulted from our involvement in it. Ironically, Communism prevailed. We lost the war. And it wasn't our freedom that we were fighting for. Then there is Afghanistan and Iraq. Both wars have been terribly expensive. Lives have been lost. Obscene amounts of money are still being spent. Through it all, Islam is prevailing. And it hasn't been our freedom that we've been fighting for. As the fireworks go off, and as we sing songs of victory and freedom - I wonder if anyone is mindful of these facts.

Perhaps it was a time when America was fighting for its freedom. England oppressed us. We felt persecuted. Immigrants from many oppressed countries in Europe fled here. Immigrants today come from all sorts of countries where there is political and economic oppression. They are fleeing misery. What they find here is a land of opportunity. Do you suppose any of them have a clue about how much that opportunity costs?

Don't get me wrong, I love America. It's a great place to live. I feel that we are probably one of the most blessed nations on earth. But I'm not naive about the state of affairs around here. I can look around me and see that it is an incredibly expensive land. The freedoms, the opportunities, and blessings ... they are all very expensive. It's not even that price tag that worries me though. Rather it is the ignorance with which we go about our day-to-day lives. We seem to be oblivious of the price tag.

And I can't help but wonder if the real fireworks might start when our ignorance of the costs to sustain this great nation is finally exposed.