We emphasize that the Bible is God’s holy, revealed, and inerrant word. There are two Testaments but one complete book. It is the same God revealed in both. There are not two gods as some suppose, a god of law and judgment in the Old Testament and a God of redemption and grace in the New. It is the same Almighty God of love and grace revealed in both Testaments.
But what do we do with all the passages of God’s wrath and judgment accompanying the history of Israel in those 39 Old Testaments books? There are passages of God’s anger and judgment in the New testament we might also note, but there are a couple of things we need to keep in mind. First, the concept of love. Too often we have a soft idea of what love means. God’s love for mankind is agape, the highest of the four Greek words all translated “love”. We think of love in making us feel good, of having everything turn out happily. But agape speaks of a love that always seeks our best good. Sometimes love means intentionally being harsh because that is the correction one needs to open their eyes to a better direction for life. The great Prophet Jeremiah found this out. He was feeling sorry for himself because all he had been through. He was complaining to God until God responded, “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me”. My free translation, Stop your bellyaching and do what I ask you. Jeremiah 15:19 A second truth is that God is on both sides of physical life. His plan and purpose sees farther and deeper that we can imagine. It is the same loving God in all events doing what is best for all parts of His creation.
God is the Master Workman and we are His creation. Keep that in mind as I share this illustration. Being a worker-priest, or having a Tent making ministry as it is also called after St. Paul’s secular vocation of making tents, I had a woodworking business for thirty years. I made new furniture items and refinished old pieces. I love wood, its various verities, colors, grain patterns, textures, odors, and densities. Some woods are suitable for fine furniture, others for more general and utility purposes. When doing a project the raw wood has to be planed and cut for the needed parts. There were a lot of “scrap” pieces set aside. Some of the initial boards still had tree bark attached. A few end pieces even had knot holes. I had many such pieces unsuitable for the current project that were set aside. They might, I thought, be useful one day. At any rate, I saw something in them, some shape, some characteristic that may one day find a use. Many are now decorative wall plaques or clocks, bark and all. And yes, there were some that fed the workshop’s stove providing heat for cooler days. In other words very little was really wasted.
Now let’s look at a Master Workmen far greater than myself. God is the creator of all things. Are not many of the same characteristics I’ve just related in my woodworking an image of the work of our Creator? I highlight several. Nothing is wasted. God cares about every one in His creation. “Not a sparrow falls without your Father’s consent.” Matthew 10:29 All are known and have a purpose. “In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.” 2 Timothy 2:20. Then further, the particular project takes time, and a variety of stages. Think back over your own life. What stages has God worked through to bring you to where you are today? And He is not finished yet. Some stages had to have parts removed and other’s added. Some very painful! Think of that saw or hand plane working on a board. Or the vine that gets pruned so that it will bear more fruit. John15. But all of it is done in agape love by the Master Builder who is working toward the perfected finished item.
This is why both Testaments tell us about our God of love. As we look out over our world we are looking at something so vastly more complex than any human project. We will not answer all of our questions in this lifetime, but the more we identify the Master Builder’s work in our own life, and as much as we can observe in the world, the more we will be willing to trust Him for the right completion of all things. And the more we will long for the coming again of our precious Saviour as He promised.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:1-5
God’s grace working in you,
Pastor Stapf