DEATH OF INNOCENCE

      It was Thursday, 14 January 2016. A woman in Pinson, Tennessee, gave lunch to a four year old girl and a two year old boy, her grandchildren. The boy was named Noah. After the meal, she took them outdoors to run and play. For a short time the woman focused on the girl, and in those few moments Noah wandered into the woods that adjoined the open yard. Soon he was out of sight of his grandmother and became lost. Knowing nothing else to do, the small boy kept walking. The woman tried to locate him and failed; then she phoned the police for help. The time was 1:38 pm. Little Noah walked a mile and a half through the rough and wooded terrain. Realizing something was wrong, he began to cry and frantically call out for his Mommy and Daddy. Searchers were soon combing the area near his grandmother's house, but Noah was already too far away for them to hear his pitiful cries. At last he could go no further. He either sat down, or stumbled, and could not get back up. He was alone, scared, tired, thirsty, and by now getting very cold. No one knows how long he crouched on the ground, trembling with terror and shaking with fear. Finally, the blessing of unconsciousness relieved him of his distress, and little Noah died. After an intensive search by about a thousand people, his precious little body was found a week later on January 21.

      I followed these events in the news during that week and prayed fervently that Noah would be found alive and returned to his parents. When he was found dead, my spirit was devastated. I found it difficult to sleep at night, and during the day could hardly think about anything else.  I was truly empathizing with this toddler, who weighed only 25 pounds. He was an innocent, sweet child who had never hurt anyone. He had only brought joy and smiles to everyone who knew him, and filled their hearts with love. And yet, he suffered unto death an experience that was about as terrible and cruel as it could be. To have died in the presence of his parents would have been bad enough. To have died in a lighted room would have been bad enough. To have died in a clean, warm bed would have been bad enough. But to die alone, in the dark of night in the woods, lying on the cold ground and utterly scared ... afflicts my spirit beyond description.

      In the social media, people (knowing Noah's family were Christians) have asked, "Where was God?" I must confess I myself had thought the same thing, though I did not orally reveal it. Readers of this blog know that I am a Christian. I believe God is the essence of love, goodness, and kindness. But He watched as the worst happened to this helpless, innocent child. We are told in Matt. 10:29 that even a sparrow does not fall to the ground without God knowing it. Why then did He not intervene to rescue Noah and return him to the security, comfort and love of his family? After all, they love and worship God steadfastly. I struggled to reconcile God's loving kindness and Noah's terrible, fatal ordeal. Finally, I came to a conclusion that satisfies me. I share it with my readers in the hope it will be meaningful and helpful to you as you are challenged by similar dilemmas.

      There are basically only two powers that operate in the world, the power of God and the power of Satan. God's power is expressed through love, goodness and kindness. Satan's power is expressed through hate, cruelty and destruction of human welfare. Every power we experience about us is the visible operation of these two invisible powers. This applies to the powers of government, human will and the action it produces, and the events that make up our common daily experience. When we observe something good, it is due to God's presiding power. When we observe something bad, it is due to Satan's presiding power.

      Why does God not overwhelm Satan so that all we experience is good and life remains pleasant? The answer to this question is absolutely fundamental to the meaning of life, and I cannot address it here in a few words. I will only hint at the answer by bidding you consider what, in military terms, is called Rules of Engagement. In modern warfare there is some agreement among nations as to how war should be conducted. They are by no means always followed, but in the most critical way they are. Take, for example, the war in the Middle East. The United States could have used atomic weapons and defeated the enemy very quickly. But by our Rules of Engagement we did not do that for reasons well enough known to all civilized people.

      God evidently also has Rules of Engagement in His war with Satan. With His infinite power He could overwhelm Satan in every instance. But for reasons He has not revealed to us, He chooses not to do that. He has told us (Isa. 55:8-9) that "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

      Dear readers, I attribute Noah's terrible, fatal ordeal to the work of Satan. When Noah became alone and lost, Satan saw an opportunity and seized it! It is his delight to inflict as much pain, suffering and hardship on people as he can. He has not an iota of mercy for a two year old child, helpless, innocent and sweet. In fact, the more he can destroy such goodness, the more satisfied he is. For you see, the goodness, innocence and sweetness in little Noah were the gift of God. And Satan's every act is aimed at God, his great enemy.

      No one can say why God did not extend His loving hand to save the life of Noah, but we must remember what Christ said to adults in Matt. 19:14, "Let the little children alone and do not hinder them coming to Me, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these." God was watching with greatest interest and concern as Noah struggled on until exhaustion and then death overtook him. Satan had then completed his malicious work.  Then God took possession of little Noah's pure and innocent soul and placed him forever beyond Satan's cruel hand. Noah is now with God in a state of eternally undisturbed bliss. His companions are angels. He enjoys light, comfort and surrounding beauty we cannot imagine. He is missed, mourned and lamented by the loving family (and others) left behind on earth. But Noah will for unending ages be filled with joy and peace.

      Dear reader, in your personal philosophy you may not accept my interpretation placed upon Noah's ordeal and others like it throughout the world. But it makes sense to me; I believe it is true; and I find peace and comfort in it. My inner tension for the past several days is now relieved. I thank you for reading my exposition to the end. May God bless you! 

THE IDENTITY OF CHRIST

Jno. 7:43 ... "There arose a division in the multitude because of Him."

      The phrase "identity crisis" is well known and often used. The ordinary meaning is that someone is confused about his relation to life and is anxious about just where he should fit into the scheme of things. In the seventh chapter of John the focal point of interest is upon an identity crisis, although it is one of a different kind. No one is presented as being unsure of who he is or what his role in the community should be. Rather than being subjective, it was objective. There was a certain Man who knew absolutely who He was and what His mission was. But the people among whom He lived and conducted His work were not so sure. Many doubted His identity and sought to deny Him the liberty to accomplish His mission. That Man, a teacher from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, was speaking and working in a way most unorthodox in Jewish society. His name was Jesus, recognized as the son of the village carpenter and his wife Mary.

      His own brothers challenged Him to go to Jerusalem and reveal Himself to the multitudes which would be on pilgrimage there. Then the writer observes that "not even His brothers were believing in Him," (v.5). Like the people of Nazareth, these young men would not admit Jesus as the Messiah because of their life-long acquaintance with Him. In response to this denial Jesus had once said, "A prophet is not without honor except in his home town and among his own relatives and in his own household," (Mrk. 6:4). It is strange but true that among people overall "familiarity breeds contempt." It is to the credit of Jesus' brothers, however, that after His resurrection they changed their minds, accepted Him as the Messiah, and served Him most faithfully. Two of them, James and Jude, later wrote inspired books of the Testament.

      When Jesus went to Jerusalem, His presence caused a great stir among the vast crowds of people. It is reported in v.12 that "there was much grumbling among the multitudes concerning Him. Some were saying, 'He is a good man'; others were saying, 'No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray." The spectrum of public opinion concerning Jesus ranged from the status of Him being a "good man" to that of one who "leads the people astray." As they listened to His teaching, they were impressed with His knowledge and ability to reason quickly with profound wisdom. Verse 15 states that "the Jews were marveling, saying, 'How has this Man become learned, having never been educated?" That is, they were unable to identify Him with respect to some school that had trained Him, for He had, in fact, attended none.

      The rulers were convinced Jesus was a dangerous revolutionary who ought to be removed. First, they sought to prejudice the people against Him with slanderous statements, such as, "You have a demon!" (v.20). Then "they sought to seize Him (v.30) by sending some of the Temple police to arrest Him (v.32). Later, they were more than chagrined when these officers returned empty-handed. When asked why they had not taken Jesus into custody, the officers replied, "Never did a man speak the way this Man speaks," (v.45). When Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish High Council, dared propose they give Jesus a hearing to explain His teaching and actions, they silenced him with barbed ridicule: "You are not also from Galilee, are you?" (v.52).

      There was indeed "a division in the multitude because of Him"! And this division remains among people to the present time. The diversity of opinion is not due to any multi-faceted nature of Jesus, but rather to the vainglory and perversity of human nature. To the Jews, Jesus was (and still is) a "stumbling-block," and to the Greeks He is "foolishness," (I Cor. 1:23). This does not adversely reflect upon Jesus; to the contrary, it exposes the prejudice of the Jews and the vaunted egotism of the Greeks. "But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ [is] the power of God and the wisdom of God," (I Cor. 1:24). This is His true identity!

TO WHOM SHALL WE GO?

Jno. 6:68 ... "Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.'"

      After Jesus had miraculously fed the 5,000 with a young boy's lunch, He returned to Capernaum to resume preaching to the multitudes there. But many of those who had eaten of that unusual meal followed Jesus and searched until they found Him engaged in the synagogue. When He saw them, Jesus said, "You seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled," (v.25). They had not diligently sought out Jesus for the "bread of life" He could give them to nourish their souls (v.35), but rather for the literal bread that would fill their bellies. Jesus refused to comply with their wish. To the contrary! In a exposition that makes John 6 one of the longest chapters in the New Testament, Jesus dealt out to them a generous measure of the "bread of life" in the event any of them cared to feed their souls upon it. Almost none of them, however, had that inclination. Instead, we read in v.60, "Many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, 'This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it.'" Then v.66 reports: "As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him any more."

      As they departed to contend with life without God, Jesus turned from them to His apostles with a question that was also a challenge: "You do not want to go away also, do you?" It is noteworthy that Jesus refused to soften His doctrine or make any compromise with the departing multitude in order to retain their membership in His movement. How different with many of those who profess to preach for Him today! It is no secret that Christian participation is presently decreasing because it is more popular, more entertaining, and more sensually gratifying to indulge one's life in the activities that occupy human attention. Many preachers and church leaders are saying that we must reinterpret the Scriptures so that we can incorporate some of what is so appealing from the worldly scene into Christian activity. They insist this is necessary lest the exodus from the church continue. Jesus faced the same crisis in John 6, but He responded quite differently from these people today. Jesus explained to them the truth without compromise or appeasement, and when they rejected it, He allowed them to go away to their fate. In fact, He even turned to His most devoted followers, the apostles, and gave them the opportunity also to depart. "You do not want to go away also, do you?," was His sober question to them.

      Peter answered for all of them by saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life." This Galilean fisherman, uneducated and unsophisticated as he was, gave a brilliant answer that no one can improve. As we make our way through life and are confronted by its difficult issues, we all seek help and advice from those whom we trust to be wise. Thus people read the philosophers, seek out the experts, and follow after those who seem to know where they are going and why. Yet, when you turn from the essyas of the philosophers to the stories of their lives, you find they suffered the same vicissitudes of life as the rest of us. In fact, the more imminent philosophers experienced wretchedness and torment to the extent that death was the best part of their lives. Likewise, we are often amazed when some "expert" suffers shipwreck with his life and is discredited after years of dispensing his profound "wisdom." The fact is that no one has been through the world before, and no one from within himself knows the best path. On the other hand, Jesus is God who descended from heaven into human life to reveal reality to us and invite us to follow His sure leadership to eternal security and joy. Anyone who is wise will recognize Christ as "the Way, the Truth, and the Life," (Jno. 14:6), and will then answer with Peter of long ago, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life."