The Christian Imagination

Where is God in the midst of our pain?

It seems easier, if we can explain why, if others can feel our pain and perhaps understand.

God is there, but we don’t always feel His presence, or His comfort.

Instead of comfort and understanding from his friends, Job was put on the defensive, and it wore him down.

When nothing more could be said, Elihu thought he had insight into the situation. Elihu’s words are not without merit. He rightly rebukes Job’s friends, and rebukes Job for thinking he can ‘make his case’ before God. Who are we to say we have a superior moral standard to God?

Yet, in Elihu’s words in chapters 32-37, he repeatedly implores them to ‘here his words,’ and says things like:
“Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have yet something to say on God’s behalf. I will bring my knowledge from far away, and ascribe righteousness to my Maker. For truly my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.” — Job 36:2-4

It is Elihu who claims to speak on behalf of God. Ever had someone tell you, “God told me to tell you this.” What do you say to that? How can one possibly disagree with someone who claims to be the voice of God?

I grew up Pentecostal. I believe God inspires words in people. However, it’s a very dangerous thing when someone arrogantly claims to speak directly for God. How can we discern whether their voice is conterfeit or real? How can we discern the voice of God?

Don’t wait for the moment of deepest crisis to learn that God’s voice sounds like.
If your dad called you in the middle of the night, would you know it?
Crisis isn’t the time to discern God’s voice, but to depend on it.

Job tells us what to do when we suffer: trust, depend, believe.
Job continues to listen, and in the end, hears God’s voice.

In Exodus 20, God delivers the 10 Commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Exodus 20:4 says, “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” Before Moses came down from the mountain with the initial tablets of stone, the people, who had been without Moses for 40 days, gathered around Aaron and asked for a visual, tangible representation of God that they could worship (not unlike what they had in Egypt). Aaron appeases the people and asked that they gather their jewelry to create an idol. In Exodus 25, God had asked Moses for a similar offering of the people, for a different purpose. God, the craftsman, then gave a very detailed description of the architecture and art of the tabernacle.

God spoke to Moses of two topics before giving Moses the two tablets. One was the Sabbath. The other is as follows:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts–to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you: the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent–the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand–and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place.”
–Exodus 31:1-11

So, while the people are idolizing and worshipping art, God is officially commissioning an artist and other craftsmen to help him build the tabernacle. He is said to be ‘filled with the Spirit of God.’ And so, we have an artist as the first person who is said to be filled with the Spirit of God, with artistic gifts given by God. The tabernacle designed by God sounds like quite a masterpiece, with both representational and abstract art, with art that is useful, and art that serves no purpose other than being beautiful. In God’s Kingdom, there is a place for artists…

Well, it’s been just over 10 years since Rich Mullins died in a car crash on a backroad in Illinois. I was attending a concert at Messiah College with Geoff Moore and the Distance about a week after the accident, and Geoff was telling stories about Rich, before shocking us all by telling us of his passing.

At the time, I wasn’t a fan of Rich Mullins, though I liked a few of his songs. It wasn’t until after he died that started to learn what he was about by visiting sites like Calling Out Your Name and eventually reading his biography. Though I had actually heard Brennan Manning before, it was Rich that really brought Manning to my attention. More recently, I have gotten into G.K. Chesteron, and now understand why Chersterton was one of Rich’s favorite authors.

Rich didn’t follow the crowd. He followed his heart, said what he thought, and really wanted to follow Jesus. He questioned, and wondered, and towards the end of his life, he was all about the love of God and loving others. And that is what I love about him.

If you’d like to read a great post that summarizes Rich’s life and beliefs really well, head on over to Relevant Magazine: Remembering Rich Mullins.

As I was preparing for Bible study tonight, I decided to get out my guitar and find some songs about community and loving each other. I have about 200 songs in my worship folder (choruses and camp songs mostly). Of those, only 1 song, Bind Us Together, was clearly about loving my neighbor. Two other songs, One Tin Soldier and Love the Lord mentioned it. That’s 3 out of 200. I then looked in my CCM binder, and while the ratio was better, it wasn’t that much better.

I’m reminded of a concert I attended by a Christian musician named Wayne Watson several years back. After he performed a love song he wrote for his wife, he told a story. At the end of a concert, he was approached by a gentleman. The guy said, “That one song, it sounded like a love song.” Wayne nodded yes. The guy then asked, in a low, firm voice, “What’s that have to do with God?” Wayne answered, “Everything.”

I briefly contemplated singing some mainstream (otherwise known as secular, but I hate the term) songs for worship, so we could sing about loving each other. Can loving my neighbor be an act of worship? Isn’t loving my neighbor one of the essentially ways I show love for God? How many non-Christians write songs about loving another person? How many Christians write songs about loving other people? And when I say that, I’m including songs of romance, but not limiting it that kind of love.

I briefly contemplated singing Hold my Hand by Hootie and the Blowfish as worship. Not to be relevant, but because I recall many years ago singing it at camp with a group of friends. And as I’m thinking about it tonight, it just strikes me as odd that we, as Christians, seem so uncomfortable with the idea of songs about loving each other. We seem more comfortable with the Song of Solomon as allegory. Somehow the idea of a guy speaking loving words about his wife, publicly, sensually, is just too much for us as Christians to accept. Or maybe I’m misreading the Song of Songs…