Redeemer Devotions for January 18, 2013

More on God as all powerful.



When I think about God as all powerful, I hear this verse from Romans. It is thrown

out into discussion about when good things happen and when bad things happen. It

is used by many folks as a praise to the All Mighty God who they hold responsible

for making their life go well - a nice home - a touchdown - a good day. The text:

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called

according to his purpose.



The text is powerful - but is it to be used by us to support that which we want

and have and are wanting to secure? Often, it sounds like good things are secured

for folks because God is good. Duh. A good God is good even as the world is falling

apart around us. It is not an all powerful God who brings wealth and health and

success into our lives. It is the all powerful God who enables us to love like the

all powerful God. That is, the God who makes us take up the benevolent, loving,

barrier-crossing witness of God's way of life that often brings quite the opposite

of the 'success' we want.



Things working together for good may be that my big ego gets deflated and I face

the brokenness of my humanity. That may lead to a new way of being me that fits

into the servant Reign of our God. Good may be the fumbling that keeps me able

to appreciate others and stop making an idol of accomplishments and claiming that

God is my God when really - my actions and my success and my wealth and my health

really have become the gods of my life to which I give endless praise - until things

fall apart. The god of marketing and consumerism and appearance will always try

to tell us that what we like and want is the good that this god will give us. I

still think there is a lie in what these gods say to us. But note - we still all

say In God We Trust. It is just that many refer to the god who always tries to move

us away from God as all powerful.



O God of love and new life, bring questions into our lives and help us to look beyond

ourselves to see the purpose of your love for the world and our place within that

embracing love. Amen.



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