The Works of God

On Friday morning I heard this interview with Rabbi Harold Kushner on NPR, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Rabbi Kushner wrote that book after his oldest child died.

What struck me was how many times he made references to ‘I think’ or ‘I conclude’ about God.  He made exactly zero positive references, in that interview, to anything other than his own experience and intellect.  He was completely untethered to anything except his own conclusions.  And that is a horrible way to come to any conclusion about God.

In fact, we are warned against doing so:

The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9

NPR ended the segment with this quote:

“My sense is God and I came to an accommodation with each other a couple of decades ago, where he’s gotten used to the things that I’m not capable of and I’ve come to terms with things he’s not capable of,” Kushner says. “And we care very much about each other.”

God does not talk about himself as being incapable.  In fact, God asserts exactly the opposite.  So Rabbi Kushner is either saying God is a liar or that God is delusional about his own abilities.  So how can he say that he cares about this God?  Why would he say that?

Unless, of course, we create a god in our own image.  And that isn’t just sad, it is an offense against the first and greatest commandment:  You shall have no other gods before me.  Exodus 20:3

Losing a son is horribly difficult; I do not fault Rabbi Kushner for struggling.  And after our Paul was born, I know what conclusions my sinful heart lead me to believe and articulate to others.  I wrongly concluded that God was powerful, but not kind.

Today, I’m ashamed to remember the words I used to speak about God.  I am grateful that God did not leave me in that state – he intentionally and powerfully drew me to himself and gave me an anchor in his word.  So Rabbi Kushner is wrong today and I used to be wrong that God’s kindness and power are in conflict.  They are, in fact, perfectly and infinitely applied as only God can do, for God’s glory and for our good.

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As promised, here is how the article from yesterday concludes:

These ideals are all wrongly placed as ‘bedrock’ and entirely neglect that God sets the standard for what is right and just.  Jesus alone makes us acceptable to God, not through anything we have done or could ever hope to do:

There are no deeper core beliefs possible than trusting in, hoping for and treasuring Jesus.  There is no ‘betterment of humanity’ apart from Jesus.  He is that rock and that foundation.  So we should reject any arguments that seek to elevate human potential or rationality above God’s articulation of himself and his God-centeredness.

Unfortunately, I tend to get self-righteous and satisfied in these moments – “I see things the writer of this article cannot see” – rather than broken-hearted for the writer.  God reminded me, again, through my Bible reading this week that I should remember I have had nothing to do with the gift that has been given to me, and that I should be in prayer for and evangelizing the lost around me:

There are so many perishing around us. And so many of them are involved in our disabled children’s lives. Lord, help them to see!

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When I blogged about a ‘hermeneutic of suspicion‘ a few weeks ago, I should have given them credit for being honest about their assessment of the Bible.

Frequently, we aren’t given that warning.  I recently came across an article written in 1997 by Avi Rose, “Who Causes the Blind to See: disability and quality of religious life,”* for the journal, Disability & Society.  There was no warning about religious bias or disdain for the Bible.

Rather, the following were offered as a statements of fact:

The root of the apparent alienation of individuals with disabilities by religion may lie in the ancient belief systems of the Judeo-Christian theology which views disability in a highly negative manner. . .

As you can see, the category ‘disability as evidence of a good and sovereign God who has the right and the authority to whatever he wants with his creation, for his glory and for our good’ is missing.  Every one of the above categories is presented about as negatively as possible in that article, while trying to sound academic.

And it wouldn’t bother me all that much, except that when disability enters our families a whole army of people also enter our lives.  Social workers, doctors, teachers, and other government employees read articles like that and conclude that religious affections are actually bad for us.  And because biblical literacy isn’t all that high even in families that attend church, many families stand defenseless in the face of such arguments.

Fortunately, the bias in this article is so blatant, such knowledge isn’t necessary to know something probably isn’t right or fair about the argument being presented.

Tomorrow, the ‘conclusion’ Avi Rose comes to about religion and the Bible.

*Unfortunately I cannot link to that article, but if you have access to an academic library or database, you can find it by searching on the above journal and title.

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William Stuntz is a professor at Harvard Law School – and he is dying of cancer.  In his very well presented, thoughtful, and ultimately sad question and answer session with Timothy Dalrymple of the website, Patheos, he talks about his cancer and what he is experiencing as a Christian.

Some of his observations are painful for me to read:

There is a tendency that’s especially strong in Calvinist circles to read Romans 8:28, “All things work together for the good,” as though it says that “All things are good.”  I heard some of that, and that hurt me too.  I am not blaming anyone else; I am sure this is more my fault than anyone else’s.  These are honest opinions, if (I think) probably misguided, and they were delivered by completely well-meaning people.  But hearing repeatedly that suffering is discipline from a loving Father, and that my circumstances are all gift — no curses, they are all blessings — made me feel sometimes as though God were coming after me with a baseball bat.

Dianne and I had two different reactions to that statement.  Here is hers:

• As Calvinists our first reaction should always be to come close to the person who is suffering, to comfort and hug and encourage and cry and listen.  We are commanded to ‘weep with those who weep’ (Romans 12:15) and walk with those in pain.

And here is mine:

• When God let me have a small glimpse of my depravity and the cost of sin that Jesus paid for me, every means that God used to show me his power and righteousness and the sole sufficiency of Jesus is a kindness to me.  Every suffering I have experienced thus far is nothing like the suffering I deserve for eternity.  I do not understand Romans 8:18 like Paul did when he wrote it (For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us), but God has shown me enough to know what God has saved me from.  Thus, I am grateful for those means of disease and disability in my family.  As hard as they continue to be in this present age, they also keep me dependent on God.

God used the kindness of many people, particularly one couple and their children, to walk and cry with us.  They also prayed for us, hoping in and trusting that God would reveal himself and help us.  Dianne is right to say that should be our first response.

I also remember when I thought God was coming after me with a baseball bat.  I would become angry when people would quote certain scriptures to me.  In those moments, the Bible was not a comfort at all, and I occasionally lashed out.  Those people who quoted scripture I’m sure felt awful.

But at the moment of God’s choosing, the Holy Spirit has come and shown me the truth and power of God’s word.  The same scriptures that made me angry were transformed into comfort and help – this is not the work of any person but God alone.

So, let us be bold to enter into people’s pain, with tenderness and mercy and compassion while also not neglecting the power of the Word of God, even if it is received, initially, as bad and unhelpful news.  Persistence in showing up in the midst of pain makes the Word much easier to take.

And most of all, let us ask God for help in those circumstances, for his leading in how we can best serve our brothers and sisters who are suffering intensely.  Jesus knows what suffering is, and he is worthy of our trust in leading us in what we should do in those moments.

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When a Russian journalist wrote a column about killing babies with Down syndrome recently, I was ready to be outraged.  His column, “Finish it off so it doesn’t suffer,” offers plenty to be outraged about.   

But digging just a little deeper and it becomes clear he enjoys the attention of the controversy, which has spread around the world.  Whether he believes what he wrote or not, he has gotten what he wanted most – more people reading his work.

So, let’s not take the bait, which is easier for me to say than to do.  You can find references to his column easily enough through Google if you like.  But I’d suggest being outraged by something more important than the writings of a sensationalist Russian journalist – like the actual law of the land concerning abortion and its impact on pre-born babies with Down syndrome in this country.

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For some reason, God has put the siblings of other children with disabilities right in front of me the past couple of weeks.

• A friend emails with a sweet description of his non-disabled older son’s treatment of his younger brothers
• A dad blogs about how his non-disabled son treats his brother
• Friends invite us over for dinner and I watch how siblings help their parents with their youngest brother’s many care needs
• Young children speak with confidence about their youngest brother’s potential
• Of course, my own daughter with her older brother

These children and young people are demonstrating gifts of care and attention that should embarrass most adults.

There is another side, of course, and that includes the siblings who feel ignored or neglected by their parents and the rest of the world because the needs of their disabled sibling get so much attention.  Or those children who resent that what was a relatively normal life has been turned upside down – permanently – because of their disabled sibling.  Parents feel deep pain at these types of reactions, on top of the pain they already carry.

But that isn’t the end of the story.   I have also heard of children who embrace their disabled sibling later in life.  We should never stop asking God to help us with these hard things.

My growing up was pretty easy – great parents and older sisters, stable home life, many Christian influences.  But I also wasn’t prepared for some very hard things that God has mercifully carried me through.

So I wonder: given that these siblings have already taken on hard things, what things will they tackle later in their lives?  What is God preparing them for?

And that is another good reason to pray for entire families experiencing disability, and not just the member with the disability.

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