The Works of God

For some reason, Google has been bringing me a number of articles recently that deal with disability and anger.  It is a grace to realize I don’t live in that constant, debilitating state of anger at everything, including God, any longer.  God is very merciful.  And he continues to help me fight it today.

In our circles dealing with disability, being angry with God over our circumstances is common.  I won’t say universal as I have met people who did not struggle with anger towards God.  But they would have to be in the minority.

Pastor John dealt with this issue some years ago, and I’ve always appreciated how helpful it was.  So, here’s an excerpt from his article, Is It Ever Right to Be Angry at God?

This is why being angry at God is never right. It is wrong – always wrong – to disapprove of God for what he does and permits. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Genesis 18:25). It is arrogant for finite, sinful creatures to disapprove of God for what he does and permits. We may weep over the pain. We may be angry at sin and Satan. But God does only what is right. “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments” (Revelation 16:7).

But many who say it is right to be angry with God really mean it is right to express anger at God. When they hear me say it is wrong to be angry with God, they think I mean “stuff your feelings and be a hypocrite.” That’s not what I mean. I mean it is always wrong to disapprove of God in any of his judgments.

But if we do experience the sinful emotion of anger at God, what then? Shall we add the sin of hypocrisy to the sin of anger? No. If we feel it, we should confess it to God. He knows it anyway. He sees our hearts. If anger at God is in our heart, we may as well tell him so, and then tell him we are sorry, and ask him to help us put it away by faith in his goodness and wisdom. (Emphasis mine)

When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, he removed forever the wrath of God from our lives. God’s disposition to us now is entirely mercy, even when severe and disciplinary (Romans 8:1). Therefore, doubly shall those in Christ turn away from the terrible specter of anger at God. We may cry, in agony, “My God, My God, where are you?” But we will follow soon with, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”

No, this is not easy, especially when the air we breathe in our American culture tells us that we have the ‘right’ to be angry.  I’m thankful God is so much bigger than that and is ready to help us!

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Pastor Tom Eckblad has served as pastor for counseling at Bethlehem since 2003, and now he is moving on to other ministries.

We have benefited directly from the extraordinary gifts God gave to Pastor Tom, particularly in our darkest days with cancer in 2004.

He has known significant suffering in his life as well.

Pastor Sam wrote about Pastor Tom in this week’s Bethlehem Star, the weekly newsletter of Bethlehem Baptist Church.   There were some great encouragements offered, particularly for someone like me who is tempted to grumble.

Here is an excerpt from Pastor Sam’s article:

In their fleeting years among us at Bethlehem, we have seen them (Pastor Tom and his wife, Jeanie) face such difficulties as a broken leg from a slip on Minnesota ice, Jeanie’s eye problems, Tom’s adventure with Parkinson’s, and a grandchild born with serious disadvantages. And yet I have never heard Tom complain or grumble.

I asked Tom about this.

“Sam, Christians are realists. We admit pain. We suffer. When a mother gives birth, she doesn’t pretend like it doesn’t hurt. And yet, we are not to grumble or complain. How can we admit that there is pain in this life, especially when we are facing it at the moment, and yet do so without murmuring against God?”

His answer was immediate and came right out of Romans 8: “We groan with all creation (verse 22) yet we know that God is working it all together for the good of those who love him (verse 28).” There is a way to groan without complaining, to suffer with thanksgiving.

Thank you, Tom and Jeanie!  May God bless the next phase of your ministry, for his glory and for the joy of everyone you serve.

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Seminaries exist to turn out leaders for our churches, colleges and seminaries.  Those of us interested in disability ministry have a stake in who those seminaries turn out as leaders.

On Tuesday Justin Taylor had a great post quoting John Frame on the problem and the future of theological education and scholarship. The final sentence he quoted was this:

And to do that, they (evangelical colleges and seminaries) may have to cut themselves off from the present-day accreditation system.

One of the commenters pointed out that there are many variables in accreditation:

Most people do not know what the accreditation process is or how it works, but it involves far more than curricula or content. Things like number of students per faculty member, research tools and seminars, and even access for physically handicapped students (emphasis mine) all go into the accreditation process.

That commenter is absolutely right.  The Association of Theological Schools has a policy statement that includes guidelines on disability and theological education (pages 29-31).  It doesn’t take long to read.

It is a nice, safe, statement.  It is also deathly boring, without any specific reference to the Bible, and condescending to local churches.  I’ve read almost the same statements prepared by governmental bodies (minus the ‘religious’ language, of course), denominations, and social service agencies.

But my greatest concern is that an accrediting body for seminaries believes that information is sufficient to change people’s hearts and attitudes towards those living with disabilities.  ‘Awareness’ and ‘experience’ drive this change according to these guidelines – not the Word of God, deep conviction about sin, or prayer.

I am all for awareness and seminary students being in relationship with those who live with disabilities.  A few weeks ago Pastor David Michael and I spoke to the first-year Bethlehem Seminary students, and I focused on the topic of disability and invited their personal engagement with the disability ministry at church.

But awareness and experience with disability did nothing to change my attitude about people with disabilities – my darkest days in terms of attitude about disability were the first years living with my son.  You can’t get more aware than that.  Nor was I lead out of my bitterness and hardness of heart through awareness.  Rather, it was God’s people pursuing my good, frequently using the Word of God, and then God calling me from darkness to light.

So, I pray that Bethlehem College and Seminary finds ways to include disability as part of the students’ learning and experiences.  But never at the expense of deepening engagement with and affections for God and his Word.  That’s where our real hope for change in attitude and behavior towards those living with disabilities lies for these future leaders of the church.

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