He said, "God is dead!"

William Hamilton died yesterday. You probably have not heard of him.  In 1966, he created a real furor by announcing the ‘death of God’ in an article published in Time magazine. He was, at that time, a teaching theology at a divinity school. Hamilton looked at life and found too many questions without answers. He concluded that either there was no God or that God was not involved in our lives. He said "The death of God is a metaphor. We needed to redefine Christianity as a possibility without the presence of God." There are a lot of people like Mr. Hamilton. Are you one of them?

My kids once thought their Dad was the smartest guy in the world, could fix anything, and always knew exactly what to do. As little children, they trusted me with their lives, literally.   It was my God-given responsibility (and privilege) to teach them about the world they lived in, how to interact with other people, the meaning of life, and even about God Himself.   Good thing I didn't spend too much time pondering that idea, for even writing it makes me feel overwhelmed!  With maturity, that Dad ‘died’ and they came to know me as an ordinary mortal.  They call for advice occasionally, loving me now understanding that I am limited in knowledge and speak from my own experience. They still trust me, but not in the same way they did when they were 5;  and that is a very good thing!

Christian, it is important that we ‘grow up’ in our faith, but I hope that does not mean that you or I out-grow our complete trust in God!  Mature faith is not “no faith.” It is faith more solidly grounded in the Person and Nature of God than in our childish concepts of who He is. Jesus once brought a little child to the center of the circle of friends He was teaching and told them, "Unless you become like a little child, you will not enter the Kingdom of God." (Mark 10:15) He invites to come to Him with the heart of child, trusting, yet with thought and prayer, we will find wisdom, hope, and wholeness in His love, shown to us in Christ Jesus. 

Obedience, a primary response of faith, allows us to live near His heart. This story, though grim, helps me to understand that. King David wanted to do a good thing and bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. (The Ark was the symbolic dwelling place of God among His people.) His enthusiasm for the task outran his knowledge. Instead of putting the Ark on poles, carried on the shoulders of priests, in the manner God had told Moses, David put the Ark in an ox cart. It seemed like the right thing to do, but it wasn't God's way.  When the cart shook on the bumpy road, Uzzah, a priest accompanying the Ark, reached out to steady it. When he touched it, God judged him and he died!   Take note of how David reacted to this tragedy - "Then David got angry because of God’s deadly outburst against Uzzah. . . .David became fearful of God that day and said, "This Chest is too hot to handle. How can I ever get it back to the City of David?" (2 Samuel 6:8-9, The Message)  

When God acts in ways I cannot understand and/or allows things to happen that do not make sense, apart from faith, I sometimes find myself angry and/or fearful like David.  Many times in my lifetime of faith, I have been tempted to rage at God for allowing situations that just don’t make sense, from my point of view! However, in maturity, I know that He is God and I am not! I can love Him, even as I know that on this side of Eternity, many of our 'why questions' will have no apparent answers.  In the most amazing part of His love, He voluntarily limits His power, letting me choose to love Him or reject Him. He could compel me to serve Him, take away my ability to question Him, but He won’t.

Let’s choose to live in faith. If we demand that God give us a reason for every disappointment, we will become frustrated by the apparent unfairness of it all! The next step will be fury at Him. And, finally, we will cut ourselves off from Him. In so doing, we only hurt ourselves for even "if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself." (2 Timothy 2:13, NIV) The better choice is to ask for a child-like trust that accepts, wait, trusts, and holds on even the darkest night of the soul.  That reveals true spiritual maturity, real understanding of His majesty and greatness.  Do not confuse this deep faith with the slogan-based 'faith' talk that passes for trusting God in some circles!   Too often that is just a cover for great insecurity or is a perceived way to get God to do what we want Him to do by saying the right things, even those things we don't really believe.

Child-like faith admits anger and frustration with His ways, but steps over the barrier of 'why' and trusts Him anyway and shows that trust with total obedience! Do you trust Him today?   Really trust Him in a way that causes you to obey Him completely, even when the sinful nature screams to do things differently?  

I pray that this word from the Word will inform your faith and make it strong today.

"We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him.  They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, and he has always known who his chosen ones would be.  He had decided to let them become like his own Son, so that his Son would be the first of many children.  God then accepted the people he had already decided to choose, and he has shared his glory with them.  What can we say about all this?  If God is on our side, can anyone be against us?"
(Romans 8:28-31, CEV) Amen.

William Hamilton finally has his answers. I can only hope also found grace in the eyes of the One he declared dead so long ago.